Prince Harry Losing Touch With Kate Middleton Is His “Second Great Loss” After Princess Diana’s Death

Meghan Markle, meanwhile, “doesn’t feel guilty” about her and Middleton’s estrangement.

Prince Harry’s strained relationship with Prince William has also extended to his relationship with Kate Middleton. With the brothers’s feud having no end in sight, Harry is mourning the friendship he used to have with his sister-in-law—a pain comparable to how he felt after losing his mother, Princess Diana.

“He really misses that warm, uncomplicated relationship, and he is torn between loyalty to his wife and regret about the loss of the woman he was so close to. Losing Kate was Harry’s second great loss after losing his mother,” royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror.

Meghan Markle, on the other hand, doesn’t feel as passionately about her relationship with Middleton. “Meghan doesn’t feel guilty about Kate, because she feels that Kate should’ve been the one person in the royal family to back her against every difficulty,” Quinn explained, noting that Markle thought their non-royal backgrounds would be enough to unite them amid her personal hardships. “Apart from anything else, Meghan knew Kate was an outsider, so she just couldn’t understand why Kate always towed the royal line rather than supporting her, Meghan, the other outsider.”

Reconciliation between Markle and the Princess of Wales feels unlikely at the moment. While the American Riviera Orchard founder does have a desire to patch things up and is concerned over Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, she reportedly wants Middleton to apologize first—their rift stems from a cold exchange about Princess Charlotte’s dress for the Sussexes’ wedding. Markle also thinks that making up right. now would seem too opportune amid Middleton’s current health battle.

“Kate’s cancer diagnosis has been a real shock for Meghan, but she can see no way to patch up the relationship simply because it has become so poisonous,” Quinn said. “She also doesn’t want people saying that she is trying to make things up with Kate just because Kate is ill. Meghan still feels Kate was in the wrong and should apologize before they try to build bridges.”

Though Markle is a bit more resolute in her feelings toward Middleton, Harry can’t help but wish he could turn back time and make things right. “Bombshell news like Kate’s [cancer diagnosis] puts things into perspective, and Harry isn’t immune from being filled with regrets and what ifs,” royal biographer Duncan Larcombe said, per The Daily Express. “Kate was like the sister Harry never had, and he is probably full of regret at how his relationship with her and William has collapsed so spectacularly.”