The British royal household has weathered its share of storms lately—from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s royal exit to Kate Middleton‘s well being challenges. However maybe essentially the most persistent narrative has been the supposed rivalry between the 2 duchesses. Whereas their relationship has been portrayed as naturally contentious, some royal insiders now counsel a extra calculated power could have been working behind the scenes: Queen Camilla.

King Charles’ now-wife confronted intense public scrutiny throughout the Nineteen Nineties as her relationship with him overshadowed his marriage to Princess Diana. Since then, she’s majorly remodeled her picture within the public eye. This transformation, nevertheless, could have come at a steep value paid by different members of the family—significantly Kate and Meghan, at the least in keeping with some palace observers.

“Camilla is at all times searching for herself first,” an insider reportedly advised InTouch. “Kate and Meghan made good targets. Fairly merely, if the princesses have been consistently at battle, then something adverse on the market about her and Charles could be of restricted curiosity.”

The alleged technique appeared to manifest in November 2018 when The Solar splashed “Meghan Made Kate Cry” throughout its entrance web page. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounted a disaster assembly the place Kate instantly acknowledged “the tales within the papers about Meg making her cry have been completely false.” Apparently, Harry wrote that William ultimately “conceded” the story leaked after “he and Kate had gone to dinner with Pa and Camilla”—although whether or not this was intentional stays open to interpretation.

Prince Harry additionally didn’t maintain again when discussing his stepmother on 60 Minutes in 2023. “She was the villain,” he said, describing her as “harmful” as a result of she “wanted to revamp her picture.” His allegations that Camilla orchestrated a “marketing campaign geared toward marriage, and ultimately the Crown” whereas “sacrificing” him on her “private PR altar” counsel some calculated picture administration, although palace sources have persistently denied such characterizations.

Royal professional Tom Quinn famous within the documentary The Middletons: Fashionable Royal In-Legal guidelines that “Camilla wasn’t very eager on Catherine” from the start. It appears each {couples} reportedly confronted related challenges, as they have been seen as “stealing the limelight” from the now-King and Queen, in keeping with Harry throughout an ITV interview in 2023.

“They undoubtedly had their points, however the animosity snowballed due to all of the adverse tales,” an insider advised InTouch. “Harry began accusing William of leaking issues as properly.”

Whereas the brothers’ relationship deteriorated and the duchesses drifted aside, Camilla achieved what as soon as appeared not possible—coronation and public acceptance. “She lastly achieved her purpose,” provides the supply.

A brand new glimmer of hope emerged throughout Kate’s most cancers battle when Meghan despatched well-wishes. The ladies now trade items for his or her youngsters, in keeping with InTouch’s sources, suggesting the potential for reconciliation. Kate is reportedly “filled with gratitude” after her well being wrestle and believes “nobody ought to waste time holding grudges.”

Whereas the brothers stay estranged, some palace insiders imagine Kate and Meghan maintain the important thing to therapeutic the royal rift. “The one means William and Harry will ever reconcile is that if each Meghan and Kate need it to occur,” InTouch experiences—suggesting that the ladies as soon as portrayed as enemies would possibly in the end be those to deliver peace to the royal household.

Whether or not Camilla really orchestrated the feud or just benefited from it stays a matter of hypothesis. As with most royal narratives, the total reality lies someplace past the headlines.