There are a lot of reasons why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would want to avoid making any family trips to the United Kingdom — at least for now. Their lack of security, the ongoing feud between the couple and the royals, and the fact that international flights with two young children can be really hard play into the decision. And now, it seems like we have another reason to add to the list: Meghan is not about to play second fiddle to her sister-in-law, even if royal protocol dictates it.

Meghan reportedly doesn’t want to have to curtsy to Kate.

As royal author Andrew Morton said during an appearance on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Meghan simply isn’t interested in playing a guest starring role in the royal family.

“What, and have Meghan Markle curtsying to Kate Middleton?” Andrew said on the show, via The Royal Observer. “I don’t think so. I don’t see that as a runner.”

Another explanation for her absence? She’s simply too busy.

When Harry travels to the UK, he often leaves Meghan (and their two kids, Archie and Lili) behind, and that might not just be because of the security situation.

“They’ve got their own lives in California,” Andrew said. “They’ve got their own set, they’ve got their own influence, and they’ve got their own companies.”

It would be a while before Meghan is required to curtsy to Kate, though.

As The Royal Observer pointed out, Meghan would only have to curtsy to Kate if Prince William was standing next to her, not if she and Kate were interacting while he was elsewhere. When Will takes the throne, though, Meghan will have to curtsy to Kate as the Queen Consort any time they see each other.

Meghan and Kate’s feud has been brewing for a long time.

Different royal experts (and even fans) have their own theories about when Kate and Meghan stopped getting along — and plenty of people believe they were never friendly in the first place. But it seems safe to assume that around the time of the flower girl incident ahead of Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding is when things truly boiled over, and they never ended up having a sisterly relationship after that.

Six years have passed since then, and nothing seems to have improved between them.

It doesn’t appear that Meghan and Kate will have to cross paths any time soon.

The next time they’re required to be in the same place at the same time might just be King Charles’ funeral someday – but until then, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Kate and Meghan to be in the same room (or even the same country) unless they choose to be.
It would be nice to see Harry and Will kiss and make up, though. Haven’t all these feuds gone on long enough?

Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.