Meghan Markle believes she is being judged by ‘a completely different rulebook’ from Princess Kate as the future queen is hailed a ‘golden girl’ in the British press while the Duchess of Sussex faces online backlash for sharing far more guarded images of her own children, a source told Star Magazine. The latest flare-up in the long-running tension between the couples has reportedly been triggered by a fresh round of glossy family photos from Kensington Palace and a contrasting reaction to Meghan’s post celebrating Prince Archie’s seventh birthday in California.
The news came after the Prince and Princess of Wales released a string of carefully curated images in late April and early May. A barefoot Princess Kate, 44, was shown laughing on the grass with Prince William, 43, and their three children in a portrait marking the couple’s 15th wedding anniversary, posted to Instagram on 29 April. Days later, the Waleses published an 11th birthday photo of Princess Charlotte grinning in a field of daisies, followed by footage of the young royal running along a beach and cuddling the family’s cocker spaniels.
Those images, which were warmly received by royal fans, appear to have landed rather differently in Montecito. Meghan Markle, 44, and Prince Harry, 41, feel there is ‘one set of rules for William and Kate and another for them‘, a source told Star. It added that ‘all the resentment over the double standard is bubbling up again,’ as the Waleses are feted for the kind of soft-focus family branding that draws suspicion when the Sussexes attempt anything similar.
Days after Charlotte’s birthday content appeared online, Meghan posted her own tribute to Archie on 6 May. Her Instagram update included a rear-view shot of Archie and his younger sister Princess Lilibet, who turns five in June, along with a previously unseen image of newborn Archie lying on Harry’s chest. The faces of both children remained hidden. Even so, the post attracted criticism from some users, accusing the couple of ‘trying to stay relevant’ or ‘pimping their children to stay in [the] media spotlight.’
The contrast has, insiders say, sharpened a grievance that has been simmering since Meghan’s time inside the royal fold. ‘Kate and William are very clearly using their children as part of the royal image and the branding of the family,’ the source said. ‘Yet Meghan’s been criticised for even including the smallest glimpse of Archie and Lilibet.’ In their telling, Meghan feels that ‘no matter what she does, Kate will be the golden girl and she will be the villain.’
Meghan Markle, Kate And A Long-Simmering ‘Double Standard’
For context, Meghan Markle has argued for years that she and Harry are held to a harsher standard than the Prince and Princess of Wales, both by the palace and by sections of the public. In her 2021 CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, the former Suits actress objected to the press pitting her against Kate and said, ‘If you love me, you don’t have to hate her. And if you love her, you don’t have to hate me.’
According to the Star source, Meghan believes she entered royal life at a disadvantage. Kate is described as ‘the quintessential Brit’ who is reserved and ‘somewhat inward with her emotions,’ while Meghan ‘speaks her mind’ and ‘is not afraid to amend and improve the status quo.’ The two women have ‘always been poles apart,’ the source claimed, and Meghan ‘just wishes people would stop comparing them.’
She is also said to have once hoped the pair would work together as ‘a positive and powerful force for change.’ Instead, relations reportedly worsened as William and Harry’s bond fractured and the Sussexes became convinced they were being treated unfairly by what they refer to as ‘The Firm.’ Kate, the source suggested, ‘was always colouring inside the lines’ and not prepared to test royal protocol in the way Meghan did.
The now infamous ‘bridesmaid dress’ row before Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding crystallised that split. Early reports claimed Meghan made Kate cry during a disagreement over Princess Charlotte’s outfit. In the CBS interview, Meghan insisted ‘the reverse happened,’ adding that Kate had apologised with flowers and a note and that she had ‘forgiven her’ and saw her as ‘a good person,’ as reported by several outlets at the time. But once the leak about tensions between the women hit the papers, ‘the writing was on the wall’, the source said, and Meghan came to feel her future in the UK was ‘doomed.’
A ‘Golden Girl’ Image Meghan Markle Says She Can’t Compete With
The anniversary and birthday portraits have reinforced a familiar narrative. William and Kate are widely cast as the monarchy’s untouchable golden couple, praised for precisely the sort of family content that some critics brand opportunistic when it comes from Montecito. ‘Seeing the photos it’s hard for even Meghan to deny how happy the Waleses look as a family,’ the source told Star. ‘They’re living this perfect life and idolised the world over, which is impossible to compete with.’
Meghan has publicly defended her decision to keep Archie and Lilibet’s faces off social media, citing both security concerns and her distrust of the British media. In a 2022 interview with The Cut, she questioned why she would give photographs of her children to outlets she and Harry accuse of racism and bullying before sharing them with their own supporters. ‘Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child?’ she asked.
Even so, the Star source suggested that part of Meghan would like to be less guarded. ‘In an ideal world, Meghan would be showing the kids’ faces,’ the informant said. ‘Seeing the Waleses get away with it so brazenly when she’d be torn to shreds is really tough to take.’
The couples are also being measured against each other on the international stage once again. After Harry and Meghan completed a high-profile trip to Australia in April that blended charity work with business engagements, Kate announced a solo visit to Italy in mid-May to promote her early years initiative. Inside royal circles, the source claimed, ‘the competition stakes have been reignited again.’
Meghan, they added, is convinced Kate’s image is still being painstakingly protected. She allegedly believes she is painted as the perpetual troublemaker while Kate is presented as a flawless future queen. ‘Meghan would love one day to expose how Kate isn’t this sweet, faultless person that everyone seems to think,’ the source claimed, arguing that the pre-wedding row was just ‘one example of how frosty and controlling Kate can be.’
None of these allegations has been independently verified, and Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace typically decline to comment on personal claims of this nature.
Harry’s resentment appears to run on a parallel track. In the couple’s 2022 Netflix series Harry & Meghan, he accused palace officials of protecting William at his expense. His 2023 memoir Spare went further, detailing private confrontations with his brother and father. Yet according to the latest reporting, Harry still believes there is more of ‘his truth’ left to air and that ‘William and Kate’s secrets won’t stay buried forever.’
The tension is likely to be tested again in July, when Harry is expected back in the UK for events marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. Star previously reported that he would like Meghan and the children to join him, but the Duchess is said to be reluctant to return, unsettled by years of acrimony and continuing security worries. The source summed up her attitude bluntly: ‘She’s dreading facing more of the same.’
IBTimes UK has reached out to Princess Kate and Meghan Markle’s reps for comments.
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