The last several years have been turbulent ones for the royal family. Even before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tied the knot in 2018, there was a hint of drama in the air that only grew with each passing month. The tension between them and Prince William and Kate Middleton was palpable, to say the least, even amid many reasons to celebrate, including new babies and the late Queen Elizabeth's historic Platinum Jubilee. So when did this all begin? And why did the Queen's death seemingly do nothing to repair their fractured relationships?
A lot of the early rumors can be traced all the way back to 2017, before Harry popped the question to Meghan and they began living happily ever after as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Then, things got progressively worse as Meghan tried to inject more modern standards of life into the royal family's outdated traditions — especially after they welcomed son Archie into the world. And by January 2020, when Meghan and Harry announced that they were officially stepping down as senior members of the royal family, it all kind of snowballed from there.
Read on for a full timeline of the feud between the Sussexes and the Cambridges. We may never officially know the full story of what's really been going on behind the scenes all these years — at least, not until Harry releases his highly anticipated memoir — but in the meantime, he and Meghan have shared just enough that we can begin to piece together the details.
Early 2017: William Reportedly 'Warned' Harry About Meghan
This report came out a while after, but it seems there was drama brewing behind the scenes before Harry and Meghan even got engaged. Apparently, William didn't think it was such a good idea for them to get engaged so quickly after they started dating, and Harry didn't want to hear it. A source told People that William "cautioned Harry that things were moving too quickly, leaving Harry angry and hurt."
November 2017: Meghan & Harry Announce Their Engagement
By November, it was official: Harry and Meghan were getting married. The announcement came via a royal tweet, and it confirmed that they were already planning to wed the following spring — these two wasted no time! It didn't take long before their engagement photos hit the internet, and at that point, there was no denying that another royal wedding was about to take place.
December 2017: Lack of a Warm Welcome
Another behind-the-scenes tidbit that didn't come out until later: Apparently, the first Christmas after Harry and Meghan got engaged was a dramatic one for the family. As royal expert Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair, in December 2017, Harry was feeling a bit bummed that William wasn't more welcoming to Meghan in the family.
"Harry felt William wasn't rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so," a source said. "They had a bit of a falling-out, which was only resolved when [then-Prince] Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort. That's when the Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend Christmas with them."
May 2018: Meghan & Harry Tie the Knot
Just as Meghan and Harry promised, they did in fact end up getting married in the spring of 2018. On the big day, it seemed like everyone was getting along. William and Harry appeared to be happy and celebrating the moment together, and Kate was there, even though she had just given birth to Prince Louis a month earlier. Looking back, it would have been almost impossible to predict that feud rumors weren't far behind.
June 2018: First Reports of Meghan & Kate Feuding
Just a month after Harry and Meghan got married, the rumors began. According to what a source told Us Weekly, Kate wasn't thrilled with the way Meghan was acting, and didn't want to keep giving her advice on royal life.
"Meghan learned everything from Kate," the source said. "But since the wedding, Kate feels like Meghan has barely made any effort with her and is more interested in impressing [Queen Elizabeth]. She's a nice person and doesn't want to see Meghan fall flat on her face, but at the same time she's cut back on giving her advice."
December 2018: An Awkward Moment at Christmas
By the holidays, the drama was starting to ramp up big time. People who watched video footage of the Cambridges and the Sussexes at Sandringham caught a moment when it looked like William was ignoring Meghan when she tried to get his attention as they walked through the crowds, which seemed a bit awkward. So much for the illusion of them all being one big happy family, right?
January 2019: Harry & William Reportedly Stop Speaking
Things went downhill fast. After that awkward Christmas encounter, it was reported that William and Harry were barely speaking, which was definitely a big deal, especially because they'd always had a close brotherly relationship. At the time, sources told The Sun that the rift between the princes was growing deeper, and body language experts said that at Christmas, the way William and Harry had been behaving toward each other signaled something big going on.
March 2019: Meghan Shakes Things Up by Being 'Difficult'
Royal expert Anna Pasternak said that she felt William thought Meghan was "difficult," especially because she was trying to push the royal family into adopting more modern policies and stepping away from tradition.
"I think that William is very responsible and knows what his role is, and Kate has come alongside and executed that extremely well," she said. "And I think it's quite difficult to have had Meghan, who have seems to want to modernize and set her own agenda, and you can't have it all."
August 2019: Reports of a Massive Fight Over Meghan
By August 2019, reports surfaced claiming that this feud had been going on for a bit longer than some might have guessed — including an incident involving a huge blowout. Apparently, Harry lost it at William for not being accepting enough of Meghan — all while she and Kate were both awkwardly sitting in the room, watching it happen. Reportedly, Kate tried to smooth it over by sending flowers, but it sounded like quite a disaster.
October 2019: On Different Paths
In the documentary Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, Harry addressed the feud rumors for the first time, admitting that he and William are on different paths but that they still love each other.
"Inevitably stuff happens. But we're brothers, we'll always be brothers," he said. "We're certainly on different paths at the moment. I'll always be there for him and as I know, he'll always be there for me. We don't see each other as much as we used to because we're so busy, but I love him dearly."
November 2019: Balcony Drama
During Remembrance Day in 2019, Kate and Meghan stood on separate balconies — Meghan with Prince Edward's wife, Sophie, and Princess Anne's husband, while Kate stood on another one with Queen Elizabeth and Camilla. There were rumors that this was because they were feuding, but in reality, it was more likely that Kate was just following pecking order as a more senior member of the family.
December 2019: William Is Relieved Harry's Away for Christmas
At the end of 2019, Meghan and Harry had announced that they were planning to take a break over the holidays, and that included Christmas. And according to reports, William was relieved that his brother and sister-in-law wouldn't be there that year.
"William's grown tired of Harry feeling sorry for himself," a source told In Touch, adding that Kate felt it was unfair that they didn't get out of their royal holiday obligations themselves.
December 2019: William & Charles Are Taken Aback
After Meghan and Harry's An African Journey documentary had aired everywhere, the royal family was taken aback by what Harry and Meghan had so openly shared in it, including William and Charles.
"There also seems to be a lot of bemusement within the royal family about what exactly Harry and Meghan are trying to achieve, as members of the royal family do not usually speak in such detail about personal matters," a source told E! News at the time. "It's fair to say that there is a deep sense of unease in the royal households about the direction this is all headed."
January 2020: Meghan & Harry's Big Announcement
In January 2020, Meghan and Harry made a shocking announcement via a post on Instagram: They were stepping down from being senior members of the royal family. They wrote:
"We intend to step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages."
The Royal Family Responds
Reports immediately rolled in that the royal family wasn't expecting Harry and Meghan to make this announcement, and then Queen Elizabeth shared a statement responding to the news.
"My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family," she said. "Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."
Rumors of a Tell-All
Not long after Meghan and Harry announced they were stepping down, journalist Tom Bradby shared that he thought they'd choose to do a tell-all interview about their experiences in the royal family, and it had the potential to be disastrous.
"I suspect the royal family would carry British public opinion still — perhaps only just — but its international standing is a key part of its value to the British state. If that were to be tarnished, it could be very damaging indeed," he said.
March 2020: Sibling Jealousy
Harry's relationship with his family seemed to take a dive after he broke off to start his own life, but that didn't mean he wasn't jealous that William and their father were getting closer. It sounded like the rift was starting to get to him.
"There's a lot of growing commentary around the fact that Prince Harry is pretty isolated," royal expert Angela Mollard said on a royal podcast at the time. "He's with Meghan in Canada."
March 2020: William & Harry's Relationship May Never Be the Same
By this point, William and Harry's relationship had continued to deteriorate, and a source told People that there was a good chance there was no coming back from the damage that had been done since they'd first started feuding. (It reportedly became worse after Harry stepped down.)
"They won't get back to the way they were. Harry is looking straight ahead at his future with his family," a source said, "He's not looking back."
Kate Is Struggling
As a source close to the family told Vanity Fair, Meghan and Harry leaving the family was hard on Kate, who struggled with the fact that the close relationship she once had with them was no more.
"To be honest, I think Kate has taken it all badly," the insider said. "She, Harry, and William were once such a happy trio. She thinks what has happened is all very sad."
March 2020: A Not-So-Warm Welcome
When Meghan and Harry returned to the UK to finish out their royal obligations, they didn't exactly get a friendly reception from Kate and William. In fact, they barely acknowledged the Sussexes when they reunited at the Commonwealth Day services, and it all seemed a bit weird. And for many, it was enough to confirm that those feud rumors over the past three years had been real.
March 2021: The Oprah Interview
One year after officially leaving royal life behind, Meghan and Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey for what would end up being an explosive interview. They shared what had really been going on behind closed doors at the palace, from racist remarks about Archie before he was born coming from an unnamed senior royal to clearing up the pre-wedding tiff between Meghan and Kate that had been making headlines for years. According to Meghan's side of the story, Kate had been the one to make her cry — not the other way around.
April 2021: Saying Goodbye to Prince Philip
After the death of Prince Philip, Harry flew out to the UK to attend the funeral, though Meghan stayed behind, as she was in her third trimester with daughter Lilibet and was advised by her doctor not to travel. Harry appeared to get along OK with William and Kate at the ceremony, but it didn't seem like any meaningful progress had been made.
September 2021: The Release of 'Finding Freedom'
Harry and Meghan were heavily rumored to be involved with Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Family, the book — written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand — that detailed the drama between them and the rest of the royals. The book included a lot of personal stories that, if they truly did come directly from Meghan and Harry, likely meant that things were even worse between them and the royals at that point.
July 2022: Reuniting for Their Mom
As promised months earlier, Harry and William did reunite for the unveiling of Princess Diana's statue (though Meghan and Kate were not present). From the photos and video footage that surfaced of the ceremony, it seemed like the brothers got along just fine, giving fans hope that they had started the process of repairing their relationship.
August 2022: Meghan Speaks Out
In August 2022, Meghan's cover interview with The Cut was published, stirring up the drama all over again. While speaking with the magazine, she shared a bit of insight into where Harry's relationship with his father stood at that time.
"Harry said to me, 'I lost my dad in this process.' It doesn't have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that's his decision," she said.
September 2022: The Queen's Funeral
After the Queen's death in September 2022, royal fans were given the opportunity to see something they hadn't in years: Harry, Meghan, William, and Kate together at the same time as they greeted mourners at Windsor Castle. William and Kate were even said to have had dinner with the Sussexes that week, which seemed to be major progress.
Harry was also involved in the processional and funeral events following the Queen's death. Could something so heartbreaking for the family be exactly what these two needed to get the ball rolling on their relationship again? We'll have to wait and see.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
