Harry and Meghan relationship with Kate and William strained over ‘no Easter presents’

On Jan 15, 2023

Prince Harry has claimed that Prince William and Kate cited a failure to buy them Easter presents as one reason for relations becoming strained between the world’s two most famous couples.

The Duke of Sussex alleges in his memoir Spare that the comments were made to him and Meghan during a clear-the-air meeting after William and Kate had invited their royal in-laws over for tea.

It took place in June 2018 – the month after Harry and Meghan’s wedding – with the former recounting that, after “classic small talk” was shared, his new wife put forward reasons for why she felt she might have “got off on the wrong foot” with Kate.

The remarks were made at William and Kate’s home during a clear-the-air meeting following an invitation to tea
(Image: Getty Images)

In Harry’s words, Meghan suggested that she might have upset Kate in one of the pair’s first meetings when she showed little interest in using her future sister-in-law’s fashion contacts.

Detailing his memory of the meeting in the new book, Harry recalled: “For 10 minutes we did the classic small talk. How are the kids? How was your honeymoon?

“Meg then acknowledged the tension among the four of us and ventured that it might go back to those early days when she’d first joined the family – a misunderstanding that had almost passed without notice. Kate thought Meg had wanted her fashion contacts. But Meg had her own.

The get-together came in June 2018 – the month after Harry and Meghan’s wedding
(Image: AFP)

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“They’d got off on the wrong foot perhaps? And then, Meg added, everything got magnified by the wedding, and those infernal bridesmaids’ dresses.

“But it turned out there were other things… about which we’d been unaware. Willy and Kate were apparently upset that we hadn’t given them Easter presents.

“Easter presents? Was that a thing? Willy and I had never exchanged Easter presents. Pa always made a big deal about Easter, sure, but that was Pa. Still, if Willy and Kate were upset, we apologised.”