Meghan Markle’s former BFF Jessica Mulroney could be the key to revealing the truth about the Duchess’ explosive bridesmaids dress row with Kate Middleton.
In his new book, Spare, Prince Harry has given his first full account of the infamous bridesmaid dress fitting at the heart of ‘Megxit’, claiming Kate was upset that her daughter’s dress was ‘too long and too baggy’ and that Princess Charlotte ‘cried when she tried it on at home’.
In his book Revenge last year, royal author Tom Bower claimed sources told him the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex, 40, also disagreed over whether the bridesmaids ‘should wear tights’ at the wedding.
He also claimed Meghan was against it and her ‘insistence’ was ‘supported’ by her former BFF and mother of another bridesmaid Jessica Mulroney, adding: ‘Some would say that Meghan compared Ivy favourably against Charlotte.’
Meghan Markle’s former BFF Jessica Mulroney, and mother of royal bridesmaid Ivy, could be the key to revealing the truth about the Duchess’ explosive dress row with Kate Middleton (left, Princess Charlotte, and right, Ivy Mulroney at the wedding in 2018)
Toronto based Jessica was one of Meghan’s closest pals prior to the apparent rift between the pair following Jessica’s comments about ‘white privilege’.
Her daughter Ivy was among the few little girls who served as Meghan’s bridesmaids, and she featured in a number of scenes in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series.
At one stage, the pair were so close, that Meghan even called Jessica the night when Prince Harry proposed.
From helping her choose her dress to coordinating plans, Jessica was a key player at Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding, and both her sons and daughter were even involved in the celebration.
Toronto based Jessica was one of Meghan’s closest pals prior to the potential rift between the pair following Jessica’s comments about ‘white privilege’
Pictures from the wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, appear to show the six bridesmaids with bare legs, while photographs from Prince William and Kate’s wedding in April 2011 show bridesmaids wearing tights.
In the wake of Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 nuptials, reports began to emerge about an altercation between the then-bride-to-be and her future sister-in-law which claimed that Kate, 40, had been reduced to tears during a row over bridesmaids dresses.
The infamous row with Prince William’s wife made headlines around the world after a supposed falling out over dresses for the flower girls was said to have left Kate in tears.
The Daily Telegraph reported that two sources said the Princess of Wales was crying after a dress fitting with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, who served as a flower girl at the ceremony.
‘Kate had only just given birth to Prince Louis and was feeling quite emotional,’ a source claimed.
However Meghan would later claim in her interview with Oprah Winfrey that it was actually Kate who made her cry.
Oprah asked Meghan: ‘Was there a situation where she [Kate] might have cried? Or she could have cried?’
However, the Duchess of Sussex insisted: ‘No, no. The reverse happened.
‘And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized.
‘And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’
Meghan added that it was ‘shocking’ that the ‘reverse of that would be out in the world’.
She continued: ‘A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.
‘And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me.
‘And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: ‘I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened’.’
Meghan also said reports she had reduced the Duchess of Cambridge to tears were a ‘turning point.
The Duchess said ‘everyone in the institution knew that wasn’t true’ and she hoped Kate ‘would have wanted that to be corrected’, adding ‘she is a good person’.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl previously claimed Kate found the Oprah revelations ‘mortifying’.
Katie noted how you ‘never hear’ about the Duchess falling out with anyone because she is ‘very careful with how she treats others.’
Speaking to OK! magazine, Katie explained: ‘Kate has never wanted any suggestion of a rift with Meghan to come out in the press, so for this story to be circulating is very hard.’
Katie added there are ‘different versions’ of the story and claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan know Kate is ‘not in a position to respond’.
‘From what I hear, there are different versions of the bridesmaid story, not just the one Meghan discussed,’ the royal expert told the publication.
‘Kate felt it was all sorted, so to have it brought up again was mortifying. Kate is not in a position to respond and Meghan and Harry know that.
Kate and Meghan exchanged a series of texts (re-created, above) about the bridesmaid dress, according to Harry
The royal expert went on to claim that Kate has been left ‘saddened, disappointed and hurt’ in the wake of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Still, the mystery took another twist earlier this year when royal author Tom Bower claimed that the original version of events was true.
In the book, Bower said Kate had been ‘tired’ following the birth of her son Prince Louis in the run-up to the wedding, adding she was ‘irritated by complaints of Meghan bullying her staff.’
Writing in the biography, Tom Bower said the Duchess of Cambridge was ‘too fatigued to cope’ with a disagreement over whether bridesmaids should wear tights, however ultimately felt they should in order to follow protocol.
However he claimed: ‘Meghan’s insistence was supported by Jessica, the mother of Ivy.’
According to one royal biographer, Kate was upset about the hemline of Charlotte’s dress, as well as the general fit – the Duchess felt it was ‘too short’
The argument over bridesmaid dresses has arisen a number of times in the press since the royal wedding in 2018
According to royal biographer Tom Bower, Meghan’s insistence about the bridesmaid dresses and tights was supported by her friend Jessica (pictured)
The disagreement was then followed by a second argument ‘about the length of Charlotte’s hem – Kate felt it was too short and anyway did not fit.’
He writes: ‘Melissa Toubati, Meghan’s assistant, and the dress-fitters employed by Givenchy’s Clare Waight Keller, witnessed Meghan emphatically reject Kate’s observation.’
However Bower claims the Duchess of Sussex ‘wouldn’t compromise’ – and Kate became upset, feeling as though complaints by staff about Meghan’s behaviour had been confirmed.
Prince Harry offered a different account of the disagreement in his book Spare.
Directly referencing his niece – a breach of privacy that is sure to anger his brother William – Harry insists the incident was driven by his sister-in-law Kate, who appeared irritated that it had taken Meghan a day to get back to her about the problem.
The disagreement between the two women was, he claims, further exacerbated by Kate’s unwillingness to visit Meghan’s tailor at Kensington Palace and suggestions that they hold a party for the page boys when his bride-to-be was busy dealing with a row with her father, Thomas Markle.
Opening his latest salvo, the prince writes that Meghan received a text from Kate four days before their wedding saying there was a problem with the dresses for the bridesmaids and they needed altering.
They were ‘French couture’ and had been hand-sewn from measurements only – without a fitting – so ‘it wasn’t a big shock’ that they might not fit perfectly, he says.
Harry writes: ‘Meg didn’t reply to Kate straight away. Yes, she had endless wedding-related texts, but mostly she was dealing with the chaos surrounding her father. So the next morning she texted Kate that our tailor was standing by.’
She told her that his name was Ajay and he was ‘at the palace’.
‘This wasn’t sufficient,’ Harry goes on to write darkly.
After setting up a time to speak later that afternoon, Harry writes that Kate complained: ‘Charlotte’s dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on a home.’
Meghan snapped back: ‘Right, and I told you the tailor has been standing by since 8am. Here. At KP. Can you take Charlotte to have it altered, as the other mums are doing?’
Meanwhile Charlotte’s dress was said to be compared to that of the other bridesmaids, including Ivy, by Jessica Mulroney
According to Harry’s version of events, Kate replied: ‘No, all the dresses need to be remade.’ And said she had discussed the issue with her ‘own wedding designer’ who agreed.
Harry writes: ‘Meg asked if Kate was aware of what was going on right now. With her father. Kate said she was well aware, but the dresses. And the wedding is in four days!’
‘Yes, Kate, I know….’ his fiancée replied sharply.
He also claims that his sister-in-law had ‘problems with the way Meg was planning her wedding. Something about a party for the page boys? It went back and forth’.
The prince reports his wife as saying: ‘I’m not sure what else to say. If the dress doesn’t fit then please take Charlotte to see Ajay. He’s been waiting all day.’
‘Fine’, Kate is said to have replied.
Meghan confirmed there was a disagreement in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview but said the Duchess of Cambridge actually made her cry
Harry states that he arrived home a short time later, which suggests that he and his ghost writer were given an account of the actual conversation by Meghan, to find his fiancée ‘on the floor sobbing’.
While he says he was ‘horrified’ to see her so upset, he didn’t think it a catastrophe as emotions were understandably high. He told Meghan that ‘Kate hadn’t meant any harm’.
He suggests his point was proved when the then Duchess of Cambridge came round the next morning with flowers and a card to say sorry.
Harry makes a point of writing that Meghan’s best friend, Lindsay, was in the kitchen when she turned up as if to suggest he can prove his version of events.
Jessica has remained quiet on the issue until now – in part perhaps because it appears her relationship with the Duchess has soured.
It appeared as though they became distant in 2020 when the style guru was called out by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter for comments she made regarding ‘white privilege’ while the pair had a conversation about the Black Lives Matters movement.
Although Jessica denied being a racist, Sasha, claimed the stylist left her ‘paralyzed with fear’.
Following the blogger’s claims, Jessica issued three public apologies, however she still faced consequences and was dropped by numerous television networks.
As the backlash against Jessica built up, Meghan remained quiet and distant on the matter.
Meanwhile Jessica didn’t get a spot in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series, ramping up speculations that their friendship may have ended for good have grown.
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