Meghan and Kate’s relationship was doomed from the start, as resentments were clear early on over the then-Duchess of Cambridge’s wardrobe being prioritised over the Duchess of Sussex‘s, it has been reported today.
During her career as an American actress, Meghan Markle fell in love with clothes from British designer Erdem Moralıoğlu, having worn his dresses to several engagements before entering royal life from 2016.
But upon becoming publicly involved with Prince Harry, the Princess of Wales is said to have been given priority over Meghan as she, too, was an existing customer.
The new details of the pair’s relationship, published in The Telegraph – the same paper that published an exclusive interview with Prince Harry just last night – come after Prince Harry released his highly controversial memoir Spare last Tuesday.
It was not until 2019 that Meghan Markle wore an Erdem look on an official engagement, when she wore this custom green coat dress
The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured in a stylish Erdem dress in October 2016
Meghan wore Erdem’s ‘Davina’ dress from his 2015 collection in early 2016 – before it was available to the general public – for an appearance on NBC’s Today Programme, before she had even met the Duke of Sussex.
She was also seen in Erdem dresses in March 2017 during a wedding in Jamaica, and around the time of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, when she wore his ‘Sebla’ dress.
But as a royal, Meghan did not publicly wear her favourite designer until March 2019, The Telegraph reports.
The fact that looks by the British designer, who was born in Canada, were being handed to Kate first is said to have gone down badly with the Sussexes, with Meghan allegedly saying Kate ‘wasn’t even Queen’.
The dresses saga comes after a previous alleged row between the pair over bridesmaid dresses for Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
The Duchess of Sussex wore the outfit in London while she was pregnant with Archie, accompanied by Prince Harry
Erdem Moralioglu is a favoured designer of both the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex
Meghan Markle wore sheer black Erdem dress during a January 2016 appearance on NBC’s Today
Prince Harry claimed in Spare that one of the couple’s assistants was asked to resign over allegations they were ‘trading’ on their position to attain free gifts
Both Kate and Meghan were said to have left the meeting in tears after it was found that none of the dresses fit correctly.
In a separate row, it emerged in Prince Harry’s book Spare that Meghan kept freebies which she was given while a member of the royal family, supposedly sharing them with her staff at Kensington palace.
The usual practice within the Royal Family is to send back unsolicited gifts which have been sent to the palace for free.
Yet in his book, Harry admits that Meghan took free gifts, but also distributed them to her staff.
The prince wrote: Harry says: ‘She shared all the freebies she received, clothes and perfumes and make-up, with all the women in the office.’
But this is also said to have caused problems, as Prince Harry claims one assistant was ‘asked to resign by Palace HR after we showed them evidence she’d traded on her position with Meg to get freebies’.
His claims are disputed, as royal family members are not allowed to accept gifts unless for a major occasion, such as a marriage, or ‘official’ gifts from royal engagements.
There is also said to have been confusion over Meghan being given or ‘lent’ items of clothing and jewellery.
In one such incident, Meghan wore a pair of diamond earrings, given to her by Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman, supposedly as a wedding gift, to a state banquet in 2018.
The palace claimed at the time that the earrings were loaned to the Duchess by Chopard, but it was later discovered they were, in fact, a wedding gift.
Meghan’s lawyers, Schillings, initially said: ‘At no stage did the Duchess tell staff that the earrings were ‘borrowed from a jeweller’, as this would have been untrue and therefore any suggestion that she encouraged them to lie to the media is baseless.’
Two days later, Schillings then added it was ‘possible’ Meghan said the earrings were borrowed as she referred to the fact that gifts given to the royal family are automatically the property of the monarch.
Much attention was drawn to the fact that the earrings were worn just days after the the Saudi regime admitted to killing journalist Jamal Khasoggi.
Lawyers for Harry and Meghan at the time denied the Duchess had ever said the earrings were a loan.
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been contacted for comment.