Rumors About Kate Middleton That Put Her Innocent Reputation To Shame

Since marrying William, Prince of Wales, in 2011, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has made a name for herself as a model royal — and that didn't happen by accident. Take, for example, the future queen's reported rule about not drinking excessively, which could explain why the since-disproven rumor about the Kate Middleton causing a drunken disturbance at Wimbledon was quickly forgotten. To that end, even some of the biggest controversies to plague Kate and her husband have been downright tame compared to some of the scandals faced by their fellow royals. Even so, rumors have persisted about Princess Kate's shady side, further challenging her innocent reputation.

For instance, netizens have occasionally accused Kate of being a bit of a mean girl, particularly when it comes to her brother-in-law and his wife, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. For instance, some seem convinced that Kate was mean-mugging Meghan a bit the day of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022, as supposedly shown by a TikTok video posted the following year. Kate also appeared to throw shade at Harry and Meghan during a visit to a high school in 2021, reportedly rolling her eyes at the mention of their names, as seen in a since-deleted video (per SheKnows). And that's to say nothing of the dress Kate wore to Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, which looked a little too close to white for comfort whenever she was out in the sunlight. Via Elle, the palace described the dress as being "primrose yellow," but we'll let you decide if a line was crossed or not.

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Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aren't the only ones who have purportedly caught the brunt of the hidden spiteful side of Catherine, Princess of Wales. Kate Middleton also caused a bit of a stir back in 2023, when she did not curtsy to her stepmother-in-law, Queen Camilla Parker Bowles, during the coronation of King Charles III (though she reportedly wasn't the only one who abstained from curtsying). 

"That obvious insult raised eyebrows big-time," an anonymous insider told RadarOnline, adding, "Apparently, Kate was seething over commands Camilla made about coronation guests and decided to make her angry feelings very obvious." Although some remain skeptical of the idea that someone as well-behaved as Kate would lead a silent protest against Camilla on such a big public stage, the insider notes that the Princess of Wales' near-pristine public image should not be mistaken for weakness.

This also isn't the only time reports have surfaced regarding tension between Kate and Camilla. According to another insider speaking to Us Weekly in 2024, one source of said tension is the fact that Camilla actually quite enjoys her queenly duties, and isn't particularly excited about Kate taking her role when the time comes.