The truth behind Meghan and Kate’s Wimbledon day out: who admitted it was ‘not what it looked like’

The Princess of Wales, who is an avid tennis fan, may be thinking back on previous years she attended the previous competitions as Wimbledon comes to an end this weekend.

She has attended numerous matches over the years and has been a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 2016. As a result, she is a well-known face at the occasion.

An upbeat Catherine, 41, was beaming as she watched the match between Katie Boulter and Daria Saville in SW19 earlier this year at the competition.

But one event that may stick in her memory is when she attended it with her sister-in-law, 41-year-old Meghan Markle, in the summer of 2019.

The Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales were supposed to appear united in public, but things were far from ideal behind the scenes.

As long as there was still talk of a rift between the Sussexes and the Cambridges, it was believed that their relationship was strained and fragmented.

In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry outlined some of the arguments and claimed that Meghan and Catherine had disagreements over lipgloss at the 2018 royal summit as well as bridesmaid dresses prior to the royal wedding.

It was alleged that during a dispute over the clothes, Meghan had made Catherine cry.

According to an anonymous friend, Catherine wanted to adhere to “protocol,” with the bridesmaids—including Charlotte, who was three at the time—wearing tights, but Meghan objected.

After reading the article, the foursome gathered in Nottingham Cottage to discuss it, according to Harry.

He writes, “Kate got things started right away by admitting that these stories in the papers about Meg making her cry were completely untrue.

I am aware, Meghan, that I was the cause of your tears.

Harry claims that after the Duchess claimed to have “baby brain” following the birth of her most recent child, Prince Louis, Catherine expressed her hurt to Meghan.

Then, according to reports, Catherine allegedly said, “We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones,” and demanded that Meghan apologize to her.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also left the joint charitable organization they shared with the Waleses, ending the ‘Fab Four’ as a group.

Meghan and Catherine made a rare joint appearance at Wimbledon; usually, they were only seen together at royal family-wide official events like Trooping the Colour.

While the two and Pippa Middleton exchanged smiles and laughter, it seemed that tension was simmering beneath the surface.

In her Oprah interview, Meghan provided some insight into how she actually felt during that Wimbledon final.

The Duchess was questioned by Oprah in 2021: “Did you feel welcomed by everyone?” It appeared that you and Catherine were attending the Wimbledon match to watch a friend play tennis.”

“Was it what it appeared to be? You are two in-law sisters who are meeting each other in the outside world.”

“Was she assisting you, welcoming you into the family, and assisting you in adjusting?”

“I think everyone welcomed me” – said Meghan when she opened her speech.

But later, she added: “When you ask, “Was it what it looked like?,” my understanding and four years of experience tell me that it’s not at all what it appears to be.”

“It’s not at all what it appears to be.”

The Duchess continued by saying that the royal family would give her advice on what to do and not do as well as how it might appear to people outside of The Firm.

One of the family members once came over and suggested that Meghan “lay low for a little while” because she was “everywhere right now,” Meghan continued.

“I’ve left the house twice in the last four months,” – I replied. “Although I am everywhere, I am nowhere.”

And so, I kept asking people, “I know there’s an obsession with how things look, but has anyone talked about how it feels?” from that perspective. Because of how lonely I feel right now.

Catherine and Meghan also attended a charity polo match together in 2019 days after the Wimbledon incident to watch Harry and William play on a “mum’s day out.”

However, the standoffish incident at a charity polo match, in the words of the authors of Finding Freedom, was a snapshot of Meghan and Catherine’s “cordial but distant rapport.”

According to the explosive biography, their relationship had reportedly struggled to progress past the aloof politeness of their initial encounter.

The authors wrote, “The two appeared to barely exchange a word while the doting mothers were photographed next to each other with their children.”

In pictures from the event, Meghan could be seen holding her infant son and giving him a tender kiss while standing apart from Catherine and her family.

The Princess kept her three children, who were running around the field and chasing after a football, entertained for the majority of the game.

The women didn’t seem to talk much, despite standing close to one another for a while during the match.

Harry and Meghan announced in January 2020, less than a year after that match, that they were leaving the royal family. They then divided their time between the US and the UK before relocating there permanently.