It’s hard to believe that Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married for more than a decade. The couple’s royal wedding was naturally grand, and years later, William got to see his brother, Prince Harry, tie the knot with Meghan Markle.

The two siblings were once the greatest of friends, but we all know things have soured in recent years. It’s even said that Harry and Meghan’s marriage caused a lot of friction between the former and the future king.

The wedding of Harry and Meghan was unique for many reasons. Firstly, there was the fact that it was a former TV star from the US who was set to join the Royal Family. And remember how King Charles (then Prince Charles) walked Meghan down the aisle? It was a day to remember, that much is sure.

And yet for Prince William it reportedly wasn’t a day filled only with joy. A new bombshell claim reveals he was concerned over Meghan’s wedding attire, relating to Princess Diana.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story dates back to their university days. In 2011, the couple tied the knot at Westminster Abbey: the future king had found his queen.

Prince William & Meghan Markle – relationship

At that point, neither William, Kate, nor Prince Harry knew what the future would hold, or who Harry would meet just a few years later.

Harry met Meghan Markle for a blind date in 2016, and it didn’t take long before she was introduced to his family. The fact that Meghan and Kate Middleton didn’t have the best relationship has been well-documented. It’s also been claimed that Prince William and the Duchess had issues forming a good relationship, though they’re said to have gotten along well in the beginning.

In their book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed many things about William and Meghan’s relationship.

Scobie and Durand claimed that before William and Meghan’s first meeting, the Suits star was “self-aware enough” to understand that both the future king and his brother were “wary of women who were more interested in their titles than their well-being.”

Therefore, Meghan pictured her first meeting with William as being a “grilling.” However, that’s not how it turned out.

“William first said to her, ‘I was looking forward to meeting the girl who has put that silly grin on my brother’s face,’” the authors wrote.

William could see that his brother had found the one. Sadly, Meghan was subjected to harsh treatment and harassment from the press, forcing Harry to release a statement in November 2016 —less than a year after they had begun dating— outlining in no uncertain terms that it was unacceptable.

“Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl”

At the time, Prince William supported his brother and Meghan, releasing his own statement shortly after. Yet while the future king showed public support for Harry and Meghan, he simultaneously “privately voiced concerns,” according to Scobie and Durand.

He was said to be worried that Harry’s relationship with Meghan was developing too fast. The authors wrote that William even discussed this with his brother, telling him: “Don’t fell you need to rush this” and, “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”

Scobie and Durand continued by saying that Harry was “pissed off” that William even asked him to take it slow, while the phrase “the girl” bothered him.

Harry had little time to get Meghan up to speed with how things worked in the royal sphere. For example, the Suits actress didn’t know how to curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II in private, and even though the family welcomed her, Meghan felt isolated.

In the now-infamous Oprah Winfrey interview from 2021, Meghan explained that she “didn’t fully understand” the job.

“There was no way to understand what the day to day was going to be like,” she said at the time.

For Harry, things quickly grew frustrating. In a 2022 interview with Fox, royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, who had just released The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, explained that the Duke felt Prince William and Kate Middleton hadn’t done their part in helping Meghan settle in.

“It was certainly Harry’s feeling that William and Kate hadn’t rolled out the red carpet as much as they might have done,” Nicholl said. “You know, there wasn’t this sort of instant welcoming of Meghan into the royal fold.”

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle – wedding

“I say in the book that William was the first to meet Meghan. And actually, he was really thrilled that Harry had met someone who he’d really fallen for. He was overjoyed when Meghan came into his life, and he fell in love with this woman,” she added.

Moreover, a friend of Harry’s told Nicholl: “Harry felt William wasn’t rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort.”

No matter what had happened though, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were deeply in love. In November 2017, the couple announced that they had gotten engaged, and in 2018 they tied the knot in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

As with any royal wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Susses were celebrated with a huge, costly ceremony. But Meghan’s weeks leading up to the grand day were quite stressful.

Days before the ceremony, the Daily Mail revealed that her father, Thomas Markle, had coordinated with a paparazzi photographer to stage several photos, including one where he was getting fitted for a suit before the wedding, one where he was seen reading a book about Britain, and another as he surveyed pictures of Meghan and Harry.

The pictures reportedly sold for over £100,000 ($137,000). Meghan was furious.