Meghan Markle's reference to Kate Middleton's (now the Princess of Wales) tabloid nickname during her 2021 interview with Oprah Wi...
Meghan Markle's reference to Kate Middleton's (now the Princess of Wales) tabloid nickname during her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey has gone viral, after resurfacing on social media site TikTok.
Meghan spoke about her relationship with sister-in-law Kate—as well as her experiences with the press and public compared to the princess'—with Winfrey, in what was her first major interview since splitting from the royal family with Prince Harry in 2020.
The couple's sit-down session with Winfrey was broadcast on March 7, 2021 and contained a number of bombshell revelations about the couple's experiences within the monarchy and the events which led to their sensational royal exit. After the broadcast, Queen Elizabeth II issued a rare statement, famously saying that though sympathetic to the couple, some "recollections may vary." The interview earned Harry and Meghan a wave of support from fans, as well as criticism amidst claims they had aired the royal family's dirty laundry in public. Meghan's relationship with Kate has been a point of fascination for the public since the former began seriously dating Harry in 2016, particularly as reports of tensions between the sisters-in-law circulated just six months after the 2018 royal wedding.
In a clip from the Oprah interview, which was not shown as part of the main broadcast but aired by CBS after the fact, Meghan discussed Kate's tabloid nickname in comparison to the "racist" treatment she described facing from the media. The duchess told Winfrey that members of the royal family had responded to the interest from the media and public faced by Meghan with the sentiment of "well, this is what's happened to all of us." "If they can compare the experience of what I went through as similar to what has been shared with us," she said. "Kate was called 'Waity Katie' waiting to marry William."
"While I imagine that was hard," she explained. "And I do, I can't picture what that felt like, this is not the same. And if a member of this family will comfortably say 'we've all had to deal with things that are rude,' rude and racist are not the same." Uploaded to TikTok by user grdenflowr, an edited video shows Meghan's "Kate was called 'Waity Katie'" comment followed by footage of the duchess and the princess at their last public face to face, during the mourning period for the late Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. The video has been viewed over 145,000 times on the digital platform so far, exceeding 5,000 likes and 200 comments, many of which have criticized Meghan for appearing to use the nickname which was coined as a derogative description of Kate. The term "Waity Katie" was used by the British tabloids in the late 2000s after Kate and William's relationship, which began after meeting at university in 2001, appeared to develop without an engagement in sight. While William was pursuing his career in the Armed Forces, Kate worked for a fashion brand and her parent's party business, with some commentators accusing her of simply waiting around for William to propose. "Meghan stop hating Kate....she is the future Queen!," wrote one TikTok user.
"Obviously her 'wait' was well worth it," posted another, with a further comment reading: "This was such an unnecessary dig at Kate!" In her main interview, Meghan recounted the well publicized claim that she had made Kate cry before the royal wedding in a dispute over bridesmaids dresses. Meghan told Winfrey that it was in fact the other way around, and that Kate had later apologized for the incident.
The duchess described Kate as a "good person," and added: "So much of what I have seen play out is this idea of polarity, where if you love me, you don't have to hate her. And if you love her, you don't need to hate me." For her part, Kate made no public response to the claims made in the Winfrey interview.
The last time Meghan and Kate were photographed together was during a joint appearance with Princes Harry and William outside Windsor Castle following Queen Elizabeth II's death. Meghan did not accompany her husband to the coronation of King Charles III in May this year.
