Kate says Windsor walkabout with Harry and Meghan was 'the hardest thing' she ever had to do

Kate found her Windsor walkabout with Harry and Meghan after the Queen’s death ‘one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do’, a sensational new royal book reveals today.

The Princess of Wales told a senior royal it was so difficult for her because of the ‘ill-feeling’ between the couples, veteran royal correspondent Robert Jobson says.

The new book, called Our King – serialised in The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday this weekend – lays bare the inside story of the Royals’ war with the Sussexes before, during and after Megxit. It also tells how:

• Charles was frustrated at Harry’s ‘bad manners’ for overshadowing his 2016 Gulf tour by releasing the statement confirming his relationship with Meghan but demanding they be left alone; 
• The Queen was mystified by Harry and Meghan’s public criticisms of the monarchy and members of the royal family – and described their behaviour as ‘quite mad’; 
• Charles and William decided they could not risk being alone with Harry again after the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 and would no longer treat him as a trusted member of the family; 
• There were fears that if Meghan was allowed to join by video link from Canada the so-called Sandringham Summit to thrash out details of the Sussexes’ future in January 2020 it would not be ‘secure’.

Kate found her Windsor walkabout with Harry and Meghan after the Queen’s death ‘one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do’, a sensational new royal book reveals today 

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the long Walk at Windsor Castle to greet well-wishers

Kate and William’s appearance with Harry and Meghan to greet well-wishers and view the flowers outside the gates of Windsor Castle came two days after the Queen’s death at the age of 96 in September last year.

To many, the couples’ joint walkabout – said to have been William’s idea to put on a show of unity – might have seemed like some kind of reconciliation. 

But Mr Jobson says sources close to the royal family have confirmed to him that was an ‘illusion’.

‘Catherine later admitted to a senior royal that, such was the ill feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do,’ he writes.

It comes as relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family remain at an all time low following a series of blistering attacks over the past year. 

The Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary in December criticised King Charles as a father before taking a swipe at the choice of wives by male members of the Firm. 

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Harry insisted that his decision to marry Meghan set him apart from his family because it was ‘from his heart’ and not because she ‘would fit the mould’.

Meanwhile the Duke’s bombshell memoir, released in February, dealt further blows to the reputation of the monarchy. 

Harry accused his brother of assault, branded his stepmother a ‘villain’ and repeatedly spoke of the family’s ‘unconscious bias’ when it comes to race. 

There has yet to be a reconciliation and all eyes are on the King’s Coronation on May 6 – and crucially whether or not the Sussexes will attend. 

Another source said Harry has ‘a lot of questions about how the event will work’

The late Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan attend the Commonwealth Day Service on March 9, 2020 

Despite the deadline for RSVPs reportedly passing on Monday, it is understood Harry and Meghan have yet to tell palace aides if they will be flying in from California for the service.

However the New York Post reported that plans are being finalised for the couple to fly in for the Coronation.

A source said: ‘There have been lengthy discussions between the Sussexes and the palace. 

‘There is a time crunch on this, of course. It is such a historical event and it’s hoped that Harry and Meghan will be there.’

Another source said: ‘All families are difficult, but this is no normal family, of course. 

‘Harry has a lot of questions about how the event will work.’