By Molly Claire Goddard
11:27am PST, Jan 20, 2026
_
According to
Christopher Andersen's book
Brothers and Wives, Kate Middleton "side-stepped" efforts to meet Meghan Markle when she began dating
Prince Harry. However, the Princess of Wales' "initial reluctance" did "come from a good place," a source told the author. "She's always been a substitute big sister to Harry, watching out for him and making certain no one takes advantage," the insider
revealed to Andersen.
_
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got together, rumors swirled about the Suits actress using her future husband to raise her profile. "I think Kate [Middleton] was a little frightened by what she was reading," the source told Christopher Andersen.
_
Prince William also had reservations about Prince Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle. "William worried aloud that things were moving too fast. Meghan had secured a degree of control over his brother that no other woman ever had," Christopher Andersen wrote.
_
Despite Kate Middleton and Prince William's concern, Prince Harry stood by Meghan Markle. "Harry was on the defensive whenever the subject of Meghan came up, leaving friends and family alike on tenterhooks," Christopher Andersen wrote.
_
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recounted two differing stories about the first time the Duchess of Sussex met Kate Middleton and Prince William. "William was longing to meet her, and so was Catherine, so you know, being our neighbors, we managed to get that in a couple of — well, quite a few times now, and Catherine has been absolutely," Harry said during his and Meghan's 2017 engagement
interview.
"She's been wonderful," the California native interjected.
_
However, in their 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed that Kate Middleton and Prince William were less than welcoming. "Even when Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time — they came over for dinner — I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I've always been a hugger. I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits," the mother of two recalled. "I guess I started to understand really quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."
