Prince Harry has provided more detail on the Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton crying saga before the Sussexes' 2018 royal wedding. Meghan has previously described the incident as a "turning point" in her relationship with the British media when first reported in 2019.
In a published extract from his new memoir Spare, released by Page Six after the outlet obtained a copy of the book before its January 10 global release, Harry alleges that Meghan was left in tears after Kate Middleton insisted her daughter Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress be remade just four days before the wedding.
This followed Charlotte—who was three years old at the time—trying on the loose-fitting dress, after which she allegedly "burst into tears."
According to Page Six, Harry writes that the French luxury fashion house Givenchy had made the haute couture bridesmaids' dresses in Paris along with Meghan's wedding dress, and they had been "hand-sewn based solely on [the bridesmaids'] measurements."
In haute couture, it is not unusual for clients to have at least three fittings for a made-to-measure gown to ensure the perfect fit. After the young princess' dress was delivered to Kate, Meghan said that she could bring Charlotte to Buckingham Palace where her tailor would make any alterations.
According to Harry, this was "not sufficient" for Kate who described the dress as "too big, long and baggy," in a private conversation with Meghan.
Revealing that Charlotte "burst into tears when she tried it on," Harry recounts that Kate insisted the dress be completely remade four days before the wedding. This, apparently, left Meghan sobbing with tears "on the floor" later that day.
The prince also reportedly drags one of Kate's most trusted fashion designers into the fray, alleging that Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen (who made Kate's own wedding dress) agreed with the princess' assessment of the bridesmaids' dress design.
The revelation that Charlotte was allegedly left in tears before the wedding day amid the bridesmaids' dress drama is a new development in the disputed storyline which was first broken in 2019 by the British tabloid newspaper The Sun.
In a front-page exclusive, the paper claimed that Meghan had made Kate cry. This was later disputed by Meghan in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey in which she insisted it was the other way around.
"It was a really hard week of the wedding," she said. "And she [Kate] was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it."
The duchess explained that this news story felt like a turning point for her media coverage in the U.K. after which her mental health began to suffer owing to the negative and disputed reporting.
Speaking about the press' pitting of one sister-in-law against the other, Meghan said: "I think so much of what I have seen play out is this idea of polarity...if you love me, you don't have to hate her. And if you love her, you don't need to hate me."
Newsweek has reached out to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace for a response. Both have so far refused to comment on Harry's claims in Spare.
The memoir will be released globally on January 10.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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