Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle never became the close friends that everyone wanted them to be. The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex had moments where they got along, but when it came down to it, the two women were just a little too different.

Prince Harry once recalled a moment that shed light on those differences; he referred to it as a “clash of styles” between an American woman and a British woman.

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/Getty Image

Prince Harry recalled the awkward moment when Meghan Markle asked to borrow Kate Middleton’s makeup

It seems that Meghan and Kate’s lifestyles just didn’t quite line up. They did have a couple of things in common, and there were moments when they were close. The two did attend Wimbledon together two years in a row due to their shared love of tennis, and they seemed to enjoy themselves at the events. But when it came to the way they lived their lives, it seems there were too many differences for them to overcome.

Harry once recalled a moment when things became awkward between Meghan and Kate. Meghan asked to borrow Kate’s makeup, which Kate apparently didn’t think was an appropriate question.

“Meg asked to borrow Kate’s lipgloss. An American thing,” Harry wrote in his memoir. “Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help. Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube.”

Harry continued, “Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles maybe.” It’s unclear whether Kate thought it was improper etiquette or worried about the spread of germs, but it either way, it created a moment of awkwardness between the then-duchesses.

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton never had a chance to get closer

Although there have always been rumors that Meghan and Kate didn’t get along, history doesn’t necessarily point to that. It’s always been pretty clear that the two women are different, but they didn’t have too much time to get to know each other before their husbands’ feud took over their ability to connect.

In Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she made a point to say that Kate was a “good person.” And although the two women don’t speak anymore, it’s entirely possible that they never hated each other. Rather, that they just never had the right footing to become friends because their husbands chose to divide the family with their fighting. It’s hard to say whether Meghan and Kate might ever get close, but without Prince William and Prince Harry on decent terms, that doesn’t seem possible.