In May 2018, Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Princess Charlotte was among the young bridesmaids. In the days before any royal wedding, there are dress fittings, rehearsals and plenty of pressure. This one was no different.
Months later, in November 2018, British newspapers reported that there had been tension between Meghan and Kate before the wedding. According to those reports, a disagreement over the bridesmaid dresses had ended with Kate in tears. The story was widely repeated and became part of a growing narrative about a rift between the two couples.
Neither palace commented at the time.
In March 2021, Meghan gave her side of the story in her interview with Oprah Winfrey. She said the newspaper reports were the wrong way round. According to Meghan, a few days before the wedding, Kate had been upset about something related to the flower girls’ dresses, and it was Meghan who was left in tears.
Meghan said she did not want to criticise Kate, describing her as a good person. She added that Kate had apologised, bringing flowers and a note. She said what hurt her most was that the false version had been allowed to spread for years without being corrected.
Kensington Palace did not respond to the claim, and Kate has never spoken about it publicly.
In January 2023, Prince Harry published his memoir, Spare. In it, he described a tense exchange of messages between Kate and Meghan about whether a bridesmaid dress fitted properly, during a stressful week. He wrote that Meghan had been left crying afterwards, broadly supporting her account.
For royal fans, the bridesmaid dress row became a symbol of the wider rift between the brothers and their wives. Some believe the original newspaper story. Others believe Meghan’s version. The only person who has never given an account is Kate herself.
Years later, the truth of what happened at that fitting is still known only to the people in the room. But the story shows how a small, private moment before a wedding can grow into a public argument that lasts for years.