Let’s rewind back to May 2011, when Kate Middleton finally married her prince. She may have had roughly 162 million people’s eyes upon her, but there was one person, above all others, who was dutifully watching her back. Step forward Pippa Middleton (now Pippa Matthews), Kate’s loyal and beloved sister, who herself was catapulted to international stardom that day thanks to her high-profile role as maid of
honour – and her universally applauded rear end.
The Middleton sisters had always been close, but it was Pippa’s duty and devotion to her older sibling as she held her train that signalled to the world just how inseparable they were. And though their lives have taken them in somewhat different directions over the past 13 years – as Kate, up until this year, was fully ensconced in the world of royal duty, while raising her and William’s three children, and Pippa has been
focused on raising her own young family alongside her husband, James Matthews – it’s safe to say that nothing has changed when it comes to their bond. Indeed, Kate has always had an incredibly tight-knit relationship with her immediate family – her parents, Carole and Michael, and younger brother, James, notwithstanding. And while her husband, Prince William, has dealt with strife and rifts inside his own blue-blooded clan, he’s apparently always enjoyed the stability and support of life as a Middleton in-law.
So, it’s safe to say that – if you want to get to Kate – you could do worse than going through Pippa. At least, that’s what Meghan Markle is counting on. According to insiders, the Duchess of Sussex, who had enjoyed her own flourishing friendship with Pippa before she and husband Prince Harry left the UK in 2020 and subsequently burnt their bridges with the palace, is keen to reach out to Kate’s righthand woman. As heat has told you, Harry and Meghan have been quietly campaigning over the past few months to get back into the royal family’s good graces, but – to their dismay – they still haven’t made much progress. So, Meghan is “thinking outside the box”, and now believes that Pippa holds the key.
“Things cooled off between Meghan and Pippa when everything went awry with the Sussexes and William and Kate, but – as far as their personal relationship goes – there was never any issue,” says a royal insider. “Now that Meghan is looking for ways to make peace with Kate, she’s hit on this idea that Pippa could be a good pathway. Pippa’s always been very reasonable and level-headed towards Meghan,
so it’s not totally out of left field. Harry and Meghan are still trying to make inroads with the royals themselves, but they’re not having a lot of luck, which is why Meghan’s looking at people who might be able to help build bridges. Pippa is someone who she and Harry both get along well with, and they know she’s got a lot of sway with Kate, so the plan now is to approach her and explain how sincere they
are in their hopes of patching up things.”
Meghan’s Pippa-focused mission was apparently sparked, in part, after seeing the latter accompany Kate to Wimbledon earlier this month. The sisters’ appearance at the men’s singles final – together with William and Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, nine – was a triumphant moment for Kate, as it marked her first solo royal outing, and her second public appearance in total, since announcing to the world she was battling cancer in March. As the Princess of Wales beamed and waved to a standing ovation, Pippa stood supportively beside her, undoubtedly alleviating some of the intensity and pressure of the day from her older sister, who is still undergoing preventative chemotherapy. For Meghan, we’re told, it wasn’t just another gleaming example of Kate and Pippa’s closeness, but it was also a nostalgic reminder of the life she and Harry left behind. In 2019, less than a year before they announced to the world they were stepping down as senior royals, Meghan herself made her own royal appearance at Wimbledon alongside Kate and Pippa, even sitting between the sisters in the royal box, in an apparently display to the world that she was fully accepted in the fold, and was even something of an honorary sister.
Needless to say, things have changed somewhat since then. Despite leaving the UK on fairly amiable terms, Harry and Meghan have alienated themselves over the years with their frequent attacks against the royals – with both William and Kate in their firing line. In interviews, Harry’s memoir Spare, and their Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan, the pair have accused Harry’s brother and sister-in-law of being antagonistic and icy towards them. Still, as we’ve told you, they’ve had a change of heart over the past few months – owed in large part to the news that both Harry’s father, King Charles, and Kate are each fighting their own cancer battles.
What’s more, having hit a number of own goals over the past few years, culminating in them being labelled two of 2023’s “biggest losers” and labelled “whiney grifters”, they’ve demonstrably had a change of tack in their professional and personal endeavours. While Meghan has launched her new brand, American Riviera Orchard, and is also said to be working on a cookery show for Netflix, we’re told that – when it comes to her and Harry’s private life – they remain focused on ingratiating themselves back into the royal fold. Harry has reportedly continued to reach out to his estranged family, and is hoping he’ll be able to forge connections in the future for the sake of his and Meghan’s children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, but he’s relying on Meghan to pull her weight too. So far, they’ve reached a number of dead ends, but Pippa might just be the secret way in.
“There’s a lot of water under the bridge now, and Meghan’s hopeful she may be able to salvage something, which Harry is fully encouraging,” our source reveals. “He would like to work on a friendship with Pippa and her husband James, perhaps meet up with them on neutral ground in Europe or the States, then see if they can get some synergy going. For Harry and Meghan, it’s all about baby steps at this point, but they’d privately admit it’s an operation to inch their way back into royal circles. Scoring any type of friendship with Pippa would be a huge win, even if it does seem like a long shot given how unpopular they are in royal circles right now.”
The question is, will Pippa be receptive to their entreaties? Or will she show them just how icy a Middleton sister really can be? Only time will tell.