Heartwarming, tear-jerking, triumphant and beautifully-shot…there’s no doubt about it: Kate Middleton’s three-minute video, which was shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media last week, was a tour de force. Ostensibly released to update the public on her road to recovery from cancer, it featured gorgeous, slow-motion clips of Kate frolicking in fields and on beaches with her family, cosying up to Prince William, ambling thoughtfully through the Norfolk woods, and spending quality time with her parents. At the same time, an emotional audio message played alongside the sweeping images, as Kate told us that she’d finally completed her chemotherapy treatment.
“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family,” she said, candidly. “Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.” She went on to explain that she’d be undertaking more public engagements and slowly getting back to work over the coming months, all the while focusing on staying cancer free.
“This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted,” she said – as tender moments between the royal couple were caught on camera – in an unprecedented display of affection and intimacy. “Of simply loving and being loved.”
By all accounts, the video was celebrated across the world – not least by royal fans who not only appreciated some long-awaited, happy news on Kate’s condition, but also celebrated the chance to see her, William, and their three children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – more candidly than we’ve ever seen them before. Within minutes, it had gone viral, and, in just a few days, the video had been liked more than two million times. The underlying message – that health and family are the most important things in life – resonated far and wide.
Indeed, we’re told it resonated as far as Montecito, California, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were duly relieved to hear about Kate’s improved health. As heat has previously told you, the former royals have been forced to await updates at the same time as the general public. It’s said they only heard about Kate’s battle with cancer when she announced it to the world in March and, though Harry has made some effort to have the inside track on royal matters, their continued outbursts about the palace in recent years have made them personae non gratae. They may have quietened their complaints over the past year, but – with the upcoming October release of Harry’s memoir Spare in paperback, in which he takes aim at William and Kate, as well as King Charles and Queen Camilla – it’s no surprise he’s still being kept at arm’s length from royal matters.
But while the news was a relief to the Sussexes, we’re told the video also brought up some “complicated” feelings – especially for Meghan. After all, she’s long believed that she and Kate are held to different standards in the public eye, and – as far as she’s concerned – the three-minute video clip proves just that. Indeed, it was just six months ago that Meghan released her own professionally shot video to launch her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. The clip, which was accused of being overly cinematic and pretentious, without actually giving any insight as to what her new brand offered, saw her floating around her mansion in a ballgown, arranging flowers and whimsically cooking in the kitchen.
Obviously, Meghan’s video was a commercial venture – whereas Kate’s was a far more personal, vulnerable offering. But that hasn’t stopped Meghan from feeling like she’ll never win, and seeing the very different reactions from the public has only fuelled her frustrations over the way that things have unfolded. Add to that the fact that, in the wake of Kate’s cancer diagnosis, Meghan and Harry were left eating their words over her allegedly “icy” behaviour towards them, and it’s no surprise that the video has sparked a range of emotions chez Sussex.
“Meghan’s incredibly relieved and happy that Kate is healthy again – she was so worried about her,” says an insider close to the Sussexes, who are celebrating Harry’s 40th birthday this week far away from his once-tight knit family.
“But when it comes to this video announcement, her feelings are pretty complicated. For one thing, there’s all the guilt that she and Harry are still grappling with. They both regret going so public with their complaints about the family and Kate, in particular. When they spoke out, Meghan felt they had no other choice, but now that time has passed and her feelings have cooled off, she realises that things could have been handled more discreetly. Then there’s the double standard that Meghan has always grappled with. When you compare the way Kate’s treated to the way she’s treated, it’s impossible to deny that there’s a huge disparity. When she sees the way Kate is adored and held up as this standard of perfection, whereas anything she does is torn down, it does leave her feeling pretty bitter.”
Despite the obvious differences in messages behind the two videos, there’s no denying that – if it had been Meghan releasing Kate’s video – there would have most likely been more backlash, and that’s a fact that still irks Meghan. What makes it all the more frustrating, we’re told, is that she knows, underneath it all, that Kate is in no way to blame for the disparities in attitude towards them. It’s simply a bitter reality of their diverging paths in life.
“Anytime Meghan tries to open up and share her truth, the way that Kate did in her video, she gets slammed,” says our source.
“It feels very unfair and like there’s simply no way out. But Meghan knows it’s not Kate’s fault, and she is genuinely happy for her. She doesn’t blame Kate or begrudge her for any of her happiness or success, but she certainly envies how easy it seems to be for her to connect with people. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
Ultimately, Meghan’s doing her best to ignore her underlying feelings of frustration and resentment, and instead focus on the positive: Kate is healthy, happy and on the road to a full recovery. And what’s more, her popularity should have no impact on Meghan’s – even though, at times, it really feels like it does.