Prince Harry has revealed a moment of tension between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton that left his sister-in-law feeling uncomfortable.
In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex recounted an incident during the Trooping the Colour celebrations, shortly after his 2018 wedding to Meghan. According to Harry, the seemingly trivial moment highlighted the cultural differences between the two women.
“Meg asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help,” Harry wrote.
The Prince detailed how the Princess of Wales reluctantly retrieved a small tube of gloss from her handbag and handed it to Meghan. “Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced,” he explained.
Harry admitted the exchange appeared minor but symbolic, adding: “Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should’ve been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark.”
The revelation offers fresh insight into the reported rift between the two royal women, which was often scrutinized by the media in the years following Harry and Meghan’s marriage.
Harry and Meghan eventually stepped down as senior royals in 2020, relocating to California with their son, Prince Archie. They later welcomed their daughter, Princess Lilibet, and openly spoke about their struggles within the Royal Family, including claims of racism and neglect.
The lip gloss anecdote, though lighthearted on the surface, underscores the cultural and personal differences that reportedly contributed to tensions behind palace walls. While Harry reflects on it as a “minor clash,” it marked one of many moments that fueled public speculation about strained relations between Meghan and Kate.
As Harry continues to share candid details of royal life through his memoir and interviews, the spotlight remains on the fractured ties between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family.