When the then Duchess of Cambridge and her sister-in-law Meghan decided to go to Wimbledon together in July 2019, it looked like they had a blossoming friendship to most royal watchers.
After all, the famous grass tennis tournament is steeped in regal history, making the setting look like the perfect place for the pair to enjoy a glorious girls’ day out.
It also helped that they shared a passion for tennis, with Kate being the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 2016 and Meghan having previously attended lots of tournaments to support her friend Serena Williams.
So as the two women strode into the royal box (alongside Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton) and put on a public display of unity, everyone seemed to think things were going well between them.
But beneath the surface their bond had actually already become frayed.
Harry claimed in his 2023 memoir Spare that before the trip they had several fallings out over issues such as borrowing lipgloss and the bridesmaid’s dresses at the wedding.
Perhaps it was no surprise then, when asked about the Wimbledon trip during her notorious interview with Oprah in March 2021, Meghan responded by saying it was ‘nothing like what it looks like’.
A body language expert has since claimed their behaviour on the trip revealed that tensions were brewing – and their friendship was already on the rocks.
Here MailOnline looks back over Kate and Meghan’s failed day out at Wimbledon in 2019 to see if it was the last chance to save their friendship.
Kate and Meghan put on a public display of unity in July 2019 when they visited Wimbledon, alongside Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton (right)
But we later discovered through Meghan’s Oprah interview and Harry’s memoir Spare that there were already tensions brewing beneath the surface
A body language expert noticed during Meghan’s chats with Pippa that she was touching her neck, implying some awkwardness
Typically, Meghan and Kate would be seen together only at official engagements attended by the entire Royal Family, such as Trooping the Colour. So the decision to attend Wimbledon together raised a few eyebrows in itself.
However, it probably shouldn’t have as Wimbledon is a special place for Meghan. It was where she met Violet Von Westenholz in July 2016 who would go on to be her and Harry’s matchmaker.
Nevertheless, when the two royals appeared to be all smiles and laughs in the royal box, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
As usual, the fashion icons were dressed to impress, with Meghan wearing a white Givenchy shirt paired with a patterned Hugo Boss skirt and Kate a beautiful custom-made green dress by Dolce & Gabbana.
The match they had come to see was the Ladies’ Singles Final between Serena Williams and Romanian tennis player Simona Halep.
Disappointingly for Meghan, who had been friends with Serena since they ‘hit it off immediately’ after meeting at the Super Bowl in 2010, Halep won easily.
The final was over in just 56 minutes, with Halep crushing the American all-time great 6–2, 6–2, while also picking up a major final record of just three unforced errors.
A body language expert told The Sun that for the match Meghan was placed in a ‘Middleton sandwich’, as she was sitting between Kate and Pippa.
Catherine, the then Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, walk into the royal box on Centre Court alongside Pippa Middleton at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships on July 13, 2019
The trio find their seats for the Ladies’ Singles Final between Serena Williams and Romanian player Simona Halep
A body language expert said the position of Meghan in the middle implied she had cracked the sister group to be shown as the ‘third sister’ and very much part of the family
Meghan’s positioning also made her out to be the ‘honoured sister-in-law’ who was hosted by the Middletons, according to a body language expert
The expert said it was a public signal of intent, seemingly implying that Meghan had cracked the sister group to be shown as the ‘third sister’ and very much part of the family.
Meghan’s positioning also made her out to be the ‘honoured sister-in-law’ who was hosted by the Middletons, according to the expert.
But pictures from the occasion often showed Meghan looking ahead at that match, and not at her in-laws.
The expert also noticed during Meghan’s chats with Pippa, she was seen touching her neck, implying some awkwardness, or with one arm around her own torso in what looked like a barrier gesture.
Other pictures showed Kate adopting the ‘super-polite, non-tactile pose of standing with her hands clasped behind her back’ as she chatted to Meghan.
But although things seemed relatively OK on the surface, one body language expert claimed the biggest clue that there was trouble was how little their relationship had developed since they first visited Wimbledon together the previous year.
On that 2018 trip the Duchess of Sussex was spotted with a wide grin as she told the then Duchess of Cambridge something captivating.
Kate was then seen throwing her head back with laughter as the pair exchanged a joke, with the images making it seem like the duo could become the best of friends.
Other pictures showed Kate adopting the ‘super-polite, non-tactile pose of standing with her hands clasped behind her back’ as she chatted to Meghan
At one point, Kate traced her fingers through her hair while she watched the match
Although Kate was still the polite and friendly host, a body language expert claimed it was ‘pretty obvious’ the bonding signals were showing no signs of any growing or matured levels of closeness behind the scenes
Hopes were so high that many believed their bond would mirror that of Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, who became inseparable after marrying the royal brothers, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew.
Discussing their 2018 Wimbledon trip, a body language expert told The Mirror in 2024 that the ‘early-days rituals’ seemed to leave the door part-way open in terms of relationship forming.
They added the laughter looked ‘shared and authentic’ but there was no real posture or eye-checking signals to suggest they were in the first stages of a growing friendship.
And 12 months later, there was a complete lack of friendship signals that you would have expected to see if Kate and Meghan had been building rapport over the intervening year.
Instead the expert claimed there were ‘subtle signs’ of potential tension from Kate, who seems to have taken a more ‘adult stance’ on Meghan.
Although Kate was still the polite and friendly host, the expert claimed it was ‘pretty obvious’ the bonding signals were showing no signs of any growing or matured levels of closeness behind the scenes.
They added: ‘By now you could expect to see more exchanged glances, mirroring and more softening of the facial expressions when they talked to one another, but there were no signs of any progression along those lines.’
But there was no overt sign of dislike or unfriendliness from either woman at the event either.
On that 2018 trip to Wimbledon (pictured) both Duchesses were spotted with a wide grin
But although things seemed relatively OK on the surface in 2019, one body language expert claimed the biggest clue that there was trouble was how little their relationship had developed since they first visited Wimbledon together in 2018 (pictured)
Kate and Meghan meet wheelchair competitors during a visit to the Wimbledon Championships on July 14, 2018
However the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, believed how ‘as an actress’, Meghan would ‘never allow any member of the public to see any visible signs of a rift between her and Kate’.
She told The Sun in 2024: ‘The signs of a rift between the two high-profile women were not necessarily obvious. But we now know that Meghan hated being considered second best to the then Duchess of Cambridge.
‘Kate had bagged the number one man whereas Meghan only had the “spare” son in Prince Harry.’
In his tell-all biography, Prince Harry claimed that Kate felt as though she had to ‘compete’ with his wife.
And, according to Harry, there were a number of awkward moments during the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018.
However, Harry explained that following the event, there was ‘controversy’ over Meghan showing support for #MeToo, while Kate did not.
He details: ‘It wasn’t real. But I think it had Kate on edge, while putting her and everyone else on notice that she was now going to be compared to, and forced to compete with, Meg.’
The Prince also discussed the claims that Meghan had made Kate cry during a disagreement over outfits at their wedding.
Meghan Markle and Pippa Middleton share a joke while watching the Ladies Singles Final at Wimbledon
At one point, both Kate and Meghan donned sunglasses during the match
One unnamed friend claimed Kate wanted to follow ‘protocol’, with the bridesmaids, including Charlotte, then three, wearing tights – but Meghan disagreed.
Harry wrote that following the article, the foursome came together in Nottingham Cottage to discuss the story.
He claimed: ‘Kate got things rolling straightaway by acknowledging that these stories in the papers about Meg making her cry were totally false.
‘”I know, Meghan, that I was the one who made you cry.”‘
According to Harry, Kate told Meghan she was hurt after the Duchess said she had ‘baby brain’ after she had recently given birth to her youngest child, Prince Louis.
Kate then allegedly demanded that Meghan apologise to her and said: ‘We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!’
The ‘Fab Four’ was no more when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped away from the joint Royal Foundation charity they shared with the Waleses in June 2019.
Perhaps, looking back on it, that is why Kate and Meghan’s trip to Wimbledon the following month was so surprising.
Years later, Meghan shed some light on how she was really feeling during that Wimbledon final in her Oprah interview.
In 2021, Oprah asked the Duchess: ‘Did you feel welcomed by everyone? It seemed like you and Kate…at the Wimbledon game where you were going to watch a friend play tennis.
Years later the event, Meghan shed some light on how she was really feeling during that Wimbledon final in her Oprah interview
Catherine, Meghan and Pippa in the Royal Box on Centre Court in 2019
During the match, Meghan’s friend Serena Williams was defeated by Simona Halep of Romania
‘Was it what it looked like? You are two sisters-in-law out there in the world, getting to know each other. Was she helping you, embracing you into the family, helping you adjust?’
Meghan started off by saying: ‘I think everyone welcomed me.’
But then she said: ‘When you say, “Was it what it looked like?”, my understanding and my experience of the past four years is, it’s nothing like what it looks like.’
The Duchess then went on to say that the Royal Family would advise her on what she should and shouldn’t do and how it may look to those outside of The Firm.
Meghan added: ‘There was a day that one of the members of the family, she came over, and she said: “Why don’t you just lay low for a little while, because you are everywhere right now.”‘
‘And I said: “I’ve left the house twice in four months. I’m everywhere, but I am nowhere.”
‘And from that standpoint, I continued to say to people: ”I know there’s an obsession with how things look, but has anyone talked about how it feels? Because right now, I could not feel lonelier.”‘
Days after the 2019 Wimbledon trip Kate and Meghan also went to a charity polo match together, on a mums day out, to watch Harry and William play.
But according to the authors of the Sussex-friendly biography Finding Freedom, the stand-offish episode at the charity polo match was a snapshot of Meghan and Kate’s ‘cordial but distant rapport’.
Their relationship had reportedly struggled to move past the distant politeness of when they first met, according to the book.
The last time Meghan and Kate carried out a royal engagement, after the death of the Queen in September 2022, they walked alongside their husbands to greet the crowds who had gathered outside Windsor Castle
The group wave to crowds lining the Long Walk on September 10, 2022. Kate later said it was the ‘one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do’, according to a royal book
‘While the doting mothers were photographed next to each other with their children, the two appeared to barely exchange a word,’ the authors penned.
In photographs from the event, Meghan, standing at a distance from Kate and her family, cradled her newborn son and planted a tender kiss on his head.
Meanwhile the Princess spent much of the match keeping her three children, who were racing around the pitch and chasing after a football, entertained.
Despite standing close to each other for part of the match, the women appeared to barely interact.
It seems even a girls day out to Wimbledon could not save Kate and Meghan’s relationship.
Around six months after the trip, in January 2020, Harry and Meghan went on to announce that they were leaving the Royal Family.
The relationship between the pair remains strained all of these years later.
The last time they carried out a royal engagement, after the death of the Queen in September 2022, they walked alongside their husbands to greet the crowds who had gathered outside Windsor Castle.
It was so awkward that Kate said she found it ‘one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do’, according to a royal book.
Since then there have been no trips to Wimbledon together, or anywhere for that matter.
Despite marrying a pair of brothers who were once as close as can be, Kate and Meghan now reside in two completely different worlds.
