Kate Middleton Reportedly Avoiding Face-to-Face Talk With Meghan Markle Over Fears Private Chat Could Leak

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is reluctant to sit down face-to-face with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, because she fears any private conversation could become public, according to a British magazine report citing an unnamed palace insider.

The claim, published by Closer magazine, comes days after Prince Harry and Meghan made their first joint public appearance since returning to Britain, a visit to Nottingham that drew enthusiastic crowds. Kensington Palace has not commented on the report, and its claims could not be independently verified.

What the insider claimed

According to the report, Catherine has grown uneasy about the Sussexes' renewed public profile in Britain and remains wary of speaking with Meghan directly.

The insider told the magazine that the princess no longer trusts Meghan to keep a private discussion confidential.

"The trust simply isn't there," the source said, according to Closer.

The insider added that Catherine would be concerned that anything she said could be "repeated or twisted," and that the last thing she wants is to give Meghan another conversation that could end up in the public domain.

The source also claimed that Catherine does not want to hide her frustrations or pretend that all is well within the royal family. According to the report, she is weighing whether to ask a neutral third party with no direct involvement in the family dispute to convey her concerns instead of speaking to the couple herself.

The report also claimed that Catherine and Prince William have been uneasy about the attention the Sussexes have drawn since returning to Britain.

Palace officials do not typically respond to reports based on anonymous sources, and neither the Prince and Princess of Wales nor the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have publicly addressed the claims.

A warm welcome in Nottingham

The report followed Harry and Meghan's visit to Nottingham last week, their first official joint engagement since relocating to Britain with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.

The couple spent about 25 minutes greeting crowds, shaking hands, posing for selfies and accepting flowers and other gifts. Many supporters had waited for hours to see them.

"It's great to be back!" Meghan told well-wishers.

The location carried special meaning for the couple. Nottingham was the site of their first official outing together in 2017, just days after their engagement was announced. During last week's visit, one fan showed Meghan a photograph from that earlier trip.

The couple visited the Community Recording Studio, a charity founded in 1991 that gives young people free access to professional equipment and training in music, film and other fields. Harry has a long-standing relationship with the organization. They also stopped at Himmah, a charity that works to combat food poverty, where they took part in a cooking class.

A long-running rift

Relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family have been strained for years.

Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working royals in 2020 and moved to California. In the years that followed, they aired grievances about their treatment by the royal family and the British press, most prominently in a 2021 television interview with Oprah Winfrey and in Harry's 2023 memoir, "Spare."

Those public accounts deepened tensions with the palace, and particularly with William, who has not publicly responded to many of the claims made about him. Royal watchers have long pointed to the Sussexes' willingness to discuss private family matters in public as a central obstacle to reconciliation, a theme echoed in the latest report.

Catherine has largely stayed out of the public dispute. She has also spent much of the past two years focused on her health, following a cancer diagnosis announced in 2024. She said in early 2025 that she was in remission and has since gradually returned to public duties.

What the return means

The Sussexes' move back to Britain has fueled speculation about whether the brothers might repair their relationship, and whether Harry and Meghan might take on a more visible role in public life in the country.

Their Nottingham visit suggested that the couple still enjoy significant public support in parts of Britain. It also renewed attention on how the royal family will handle their presence, particularly at public events where both couples could appear.

For now, there has been no public indication of any planned meeting between the two couples. Reports based on unnamed insiders, including the latest one, have not been confirmed by either household.

Whether the brothers and their wives find a path toward reconciliation, or whether old tensions continue to shape their relationships, is likely to remain a subject of intense public interest as the Sussexes settle into life back in Britain.