Prince William and Kate Middleton Reportedly Struggled With Meghan Markle’s Growing Popularity

Prince William and Kate Middleton spent years as one of the most closely watched couples in the British royal family. From the early days of their romance through their wedding and the arrival of their children, the future king and queen regularly dominated royal headlines. However, according to a royal biographer, the arrival of Meghan Markle created a new dynamic that may have produced feelings of competitiveness, irritation and even jealousy behind palace doors.

Royal author Robert Jobson examined the changing relationships between William, Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan in his 2024 book, Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen. In the biography, Jobson suggested that the intense public enthusiasm surrounding Meghan after she began dating Harry altered the balance of media attention within the royal family.

The author emphasized that some of these alleged feelings may not have been deliberate or even fully conscious. Nevertheless, he wrote that there were rumors of “pettiness” and “jealousy” as Harry and Meghan increasingly became the subjects of international headlines.

Those early tensions, Jobson argued, were only part of a much larger breakdown that would eventually transform the once-celebrated royal “Fab Four” into two increasingly separate couples.

William and Kate Had Long Been at the Center of Royal Attention

William and Kate’s relationship began while they were students at the University of St. Andrews. Their romance became public in the early 2000s, and interest in the couple steadily increased as William moved closer to his future responsibilities within the monarchy.

Their relationship generated enormous media coverage.

When they eventually married in 2011, their wedding became an international event watched by millions of people. The births of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis further strengthened their position as the young family at the center of the monarchy’s future.

For years, William and Kate represented the new generation of the royal family.

That media landscape began to change dramatically after Harry introduced Meghan as the important new woman in his life in 2016.

Meghan was already an actress known for her role in Suits, and her background immediately made her a different kind of royal partner.

Public curiosity grew rapidly, particularly after her relationship with Harry became serious.

According to Jobson, the early response to Meghan was largely enthusiastic.

Meghan’s Arrival Changed the Media Landscape

When Meghan first became publicly associated with Harry, she quickly attracted significant attention from both British and international media.

Jobson described Harry and Meghan as effectively becoming the royal family’s exciting new arrivals.

Their relationship was fresh, and Meghan’s background as an American actress generated interest from audiences who might not otherwise have followed the monarchy closely.

As a result, the couple frequently dominated headlines.

According to Jobson, this shift may have influenced William and Kate in subtle ways.

The author suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales may have unconsciously increased their efforts as Harry and Meghan received more attention.

The implication is not necessarily that William and Kate deliberately competed with the younger couple. Instead, the sudden change in public interest may have introduced a new sense of comparison within a family already operating under extraordinary media scrutiny.

Jobson wrote that rumors began circulating about minor resentment and possible jealousy.

Whether those feelings were genuine, exaggerated or simply interpreted that way by observers remains uncertain. The claims describe private emotions and have not been directly confirmed by William or Kate.

Nevertheless, Jobson presents them as part of the atmosphere surrounding the two couples during the early stages of Harry and Meghan’s relationship.

The “Fab Four” Initially Appeared United

For a period, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were widely portrayed as a modern royal team.

The media frequently referred to them as the “Fab Four,” suggesting that the younger generation of royals could work together to modernize the monarchy and connect with new audiences.

Public appearances featuring all four generated considerable excitement.

William and Harry had grown up together under exceptional circumstances, while Kate had known Harry for years by the time Meghan entered the family.

From the outside, Meghan’s arrival seemed capable of strengthening the group.

However, Jobson’s account suggests that the apparent unity concealed growing personal differences.

Small disagreements reportedly became increasingly important. Misunderstandings that might have been insignificant in another family were magnified by royal protocol, media attention and the enormous public interest surrounding everyone involved.

Jobson wrote that the divisions between the couples widened partly because of relatively minor incidents, whether those perceived insults were intentional or merely misunderstood.

One of the most famous examples involved something as ordinary as lip gloss.

The Lip Gloss Incident Became Symbolic of the Tension

According to accounts of the relationship between Kate and Meghan, an uncomfortable moment occurred when Meghan asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss.

On the surface, the request was extremely minor.

Harry, however, reportedly interpreted Kate’s response as evidence that she was uncomfortable with Meghan.

Jobson recalled Harry’s version of the incident, in which Kate allegedly appeared reluctant before handing over the lip product.

Meghan reportedly squeezed some of the gloss onto her finger before applying it to her lips. According to Harry’s recollection, Kate reacted with a facial expression that he interpreted as a grimace.

In ordinary circumstances, such a brief interaction might quickly be forgotten.

Within the context of growing tensions between two of the most famous couples in the world, however, the incident took on greater significance.

It became an example used to illustrate the idea that Kate and Meghan were not developing the warm relationship many royal observers had initially expected.

At the same time, interpretations of body language and private interactions are inherently subjective. What one person viewed as obvious discomfort could have had a much less dramatic explanation.

Still, the fact that the moment was remembered and later discussed publicly demonstrates how even small interactions became connected to the larger royal dispute.

Kate and Meghan’s Relationship Reportedly Deteriorated

As Harry and Meghan moved closer to marriage and became more involved in royal duties, stories about tension between the two women began appearing more frequently.

The public initially expected Kate and Meghan to become close friends.

Both had married into the royal family and faced pressures that relatively few people could fully understand. It therefore seemed natural to assume that they might support each other.

In reality, they came from very different backgrounds and had different personalities, experiences and expectations.

Kate had spent many years gradually adjusting to royal life before marrying William. Meghan entered the institution after already establishing an independent career and public identity.

Those differences may have contributed to misunderstandings.

Jobson’s account suggests that the problems between the women became intertwined with the deteriorating relationship between their husbands.

William and Harry’s Bond Also Began to Break Down

The difficulties were not limited to Kate and Meghan.

As tensions increased between the two couples, William and Harry’s once-close relationship also reportedly began to suffer.

The brothers had spent much of their lives being viewed as a team.

They shared the experience of growing up in the royal family, dealing with intense press attention and losing their mother, Princess Diana, at a young age.

However, adulthood placed them on increasingly different paths.

William’s life became centered on preparing for his future role as king. Harry, meanwhile, eventually chose to step away from the traditional royal structure and create an independent life with Meghan.

According to Jobson, details about the brothers’ troubled relationship eventually began leaking into the media, along with reports that Kate and Meghan had also fallen out.

Once those private disagreements became public, reconciliation arguably became more difficult.

Every interaction could be interpreted as evidence of either continuing hostility or an attempted peace.

Small Disagreements Became Part of a Much Bigger Conflict

One of the most striking elements of Jobson’s account is how relatively small incidents allegedly contributed to a much larger family breakdown.

A shift in newspaper coverage, a perceived slight or an uncomfortable exchange over lip gloss might seem trivial individually.

Combined with pressure from the media, competing expectations and disagreements over royal responsibilities, however, such incidents could take on greater emotional importance.

Jobson’s description of possible jealousy should also be understood as an attributed interpretation rather than an established fact.

William and Kate have not publicly confirmed that they resented Meghan’s popularity, nor have they stated that they deliberately viewed Harry and Meghan as rivals for attention.

The claims instead form part of one biographer’s explanation for how the relationships among the four royals deteriorated.

From Royal Fab Four to Separate Lives

Looking back, the period when William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were regularly presented as a united team was relatively brief.

Harry and Meghan eventually stepped away from their positions as senior working royals and moved to North America, while William and Kate continued taking on increasingly important responsibilities within the monarchy.

Their lives now look dramatically different from the optimistic image once associated with the “Fab Four.”

The story of alleged competitiveness over media attention offers one possible explanation for how those divisions began.

Meghan’s arrival brought enormous excitement and temporarily shifted some of the public spotlight away from William and Kate. According to Jobson, that change may have contributed to subtle tensions that later became much more serious.

Whether jealousy truly played a significant role may never be fully known.

What is clear is that relationships that once appeared close eventually deteriorated amid a combination of personal disagreements, media scrutiny and conflicting approaches to royal life.

The alleged lip gloss incident may have been tiny in isolation, but it has become symbolic of a larger story: four people once expected to represent the monarchy’s united future ultimately found themselves divided by misunderstandings and tensions that proved far more difficult to overcome.