Kate Middleton’s First Meeting With Her Brother’s Wife Makes Chilly Meghan Markle Intro Even Stranger

The British royal family and those close to them mostly try to keep their personal business out of the media, but occasionally firsthand stories will be shared in the form of memoirs. Although it’s not as shocking as Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare,” Kate Middleton’s brother James Middleton published his own memoir in September 2024 titled “Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life.” James included the story of the awkward way his now-wife met Catherine, Princess of Wales and William, Prince of Wales, which is night and day from Meghan Markle’s first encounter with Kate.

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After James attended a wedding with his then-girlfriend Alizée Thevenet, they stayed the night at his parents’ home. William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales were there with their children as well, according to an exclusive excerpt of “Meet Ella” shared by the Daily Mail prior to the book’s publication. James wrote how Thevenet was still asleep when he headed to the kitchen with his family, but that while he was making her tea, she showed up wearing one of his T-shirts. “In situations like this, Alizée is wonderfully French,” James said. “She does not panic or rush upstairs to get dressed. Instead, she just greets everyone warmly as if it’s not remotely unusual to be meeting her boyfriend’s sister and brother-in-law for the first time wearing only an oversized man’s shirt.”

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James continued to say that Thevenet offered her hand for a handshake and then chatted with James’ family. She spent more time bonding with James’ family over the weekend. “When we all hug goodbye I get a special squeeze from Catherine, who whispers in my ear, ‘She’s just great,'” James said. However, when Kate met her future sister-in-law from the royal side, things weren’t so chummy.

Not only are Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly feuding, it seems Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have a frosty relationship too. It’s reported the sisters-in-law got off on the wrong foot when they first met. In the “Harry & Meghan” docuseries on Netflix, Meghan told her side of the story of meeting Kate. Per Town & Country, she said, “Even when Will and Kate came over, and I had met her for the first time … They came for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”

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Meghan also remarked on how British royals were just as formal in private as they were in public, which she didn’t expect. However, that does not match up with the account of James Middleton introducing Alizée Thevenet to Kate and William. In “Meet Ella,” James described the experience as very warm and welcoming, despite the awkward way things started. The way Thevenet was dressed also did not seem to faze Kate based on James’ description. 

In “Spare,” Harry made it sound like the vastly different outfits Meghan and Kate wore when they met was something they were very aware of: “The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice.” It’s unclear if or when Kate and William will patch things up with Meghan and Harry, but there’s been some reporting that William and Kate stepped on the Sussexes’ toes with a new charitable endeavor.

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