Prince Harry Says Kate Middleton Was ‘Offended’ and Told Off Meghan Markle for ‘Baby Brain’ Comment
Full details of the heated conversation that unfolded when Meghan Markle said Kate Middleton had “baby brain” around the time of Meghan and Prince Harry’s royal wedding have come out.
E!, which reports its parent company NBC News obtained a Spanish copy of Prince Harry’s forthcoming memoir Spare, published what Harry wrote of a reconciliation tea that he, Meghan, Kate, and Kate’s husband Prince William tried to have in June 2018 to try to mend their relationship. Kate had demanded Meghan apologize to her after the Duchess of Sussex suggested Kate had “baby brain” in a previous conversation. Kate welcomed her third child, Prince Louis, in April 2018, just weeks before Meghan and Harry’s nuptials.
This was around the same time that Meghan and Kate had an altercation over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress fitting days before Meghan and Harry’s May 2018 wedding that left Meghan in tears—and ended up being falsely reported on by the British tabloids. The publications claimed Meghan made Kate cry, and Meghan later spoke to Oprah in March 2021 about how hard it was for her to see those reports and not be allowed to correct them because the palace generally adheres to a “never complain, never explain” policy. Harry also detailed the flower girl incident in his memoir, adding new detail.
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle at Trooping The Colour 2018 in June 2018.
With the “baby brain” comment, Meghan hadn’t expect Kate to be so hurt when Meghan suggested Kate had it when the now-Princess of Wales said she forgot something “inconsequential.” Harry wrote, per E!, that Meghan was “confused” by Kate’s harsh reaction as that “was how she talked with her friends.”
As E! pointed out, Mayo Clinic defines baby brain as “memory problems, poor concentration and absent-mindedness reported by many women during pregnancy and early motherhood.”
Harry alleged in the memoir that during the reconciliation tea, Kate told Meghan, “You talked about my hormones. We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!” He described his “offended” sister-in-law gripping “her chair so tightly that her fingers turned white,” E! wrote.
Meghan, per Us Weekly, offered her regrets, Harry wrote: “‘I’m sorry I talked about your hormones. That’s just how I talk with my girlfriends,’” Meghan told her.
William was angry himself, allegedly pointing at Meghan during the tea and telling her, “It’s rude, Meghan. It’s not what’s done here in Britain.’” E! and Us Weekly reported that Harry shared.
Meghan, in response, allegedly told her brother-in-law to “take your finger out of my face.”
Spare comes out on Tuesday. Here’s how you can preorder it.
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.