Relations between the Cambridges and the Sussexes have been strained (opens in new tab) since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) decided to step down (opens in new tab) from their royal duties in January 2020. Now, royal biographer Andrew Morton, author of Meghan: A Hollywood Princess (opens in new tab), is making new claims that the attitudes of Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) played a major role in driving the Sussexes away He states.

Morton recently published six additional chapters to his 2018 book, excerpts of which were published in the Mirror (opens in new tab). The author argues (opens in new tab) that it was the royal family as a whole, rather than the royal system as a whole, that led to the Sussex couple's departure from the royal family. Rather than abandoning Princess Meghan, Morton writes, the palace had a team "monitoring social media accounts for hundreds of hours" and "violent threats were reported to the police."

Instead, Prince Harry's brother and sister-in-law reportedly caused the falling out. The Duchess of Cambridge's coldness toward Meghan and William's alleged bullying contributed to a devastating "Cain and Abel" rift between the siblings," Morton continued. Harry was the "architect" of the deteriorating relationship between the Sussex and Royal families, but it was Meghan who "took the hit."

The term "alleged bullying" may refer to an article published in The Times (opens in new tab) in January 2020 that Prince William acted like a "bully" toward the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A source told the paper that the couple were fed up with being "constantly told their position."

The two brothers strongly denied the allegations of the Times' sources at the time. They issued a statement saying, "Despite their clear denials, a false article speculating on the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge was published in a British newspaper today. For brothers who care deeply about issues surrounding mental health, the use of such inflammatory language is offensive and potentially harmful" (via The Guardian (open in new tab)), the statement said.

Whether or not these claims are true, it seems certain that the Cambridges and Sussexes had a complicated relationship before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding (open in new tab) in 2018. Markle herself spoke earlier this year as part of an interview with Oprah (opens in new tab) about finding herself in a less intimate situation involving Middleton, saying that the woman who would become her sister-in-law made her cry (opens in new tab) ahead of the wedding.

Some recent reports (open in new tab) have pointed to signs of reconciliation (open in new tab) between the two families, but many royal experts remain skeptical (open in new tab). Still, it is possible that the Fab Four will reconcile in time for Christmas (open in new tab), or at least next year's Queen's Jubilee (open in new tab).