Scobie: The Prince William-Rose Hanbury rumors ‘will never go away’

While Omid Scobie’s Endgame doesn’t have any kind of confirmation about Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Scobie does include the story and all of the reporting at the time from the Sun. What was fascinating about the way Scobie covered it was that he confirmed what many of us had always believed: that Kensington Palace was able to successfully “bury” the affair story short-term by feeding Dan Wootton and the Sun all kinds of information about the Sussexes. Meaning, William threw his brother under the bus, all to protect himself from the affair rumors. The Rose story, more than anything else, was the reason why things fell apart so spectacularly between Harry and William in 2019 – Harry understood (and had evidence) of the Christian Jones-Dan Wootton connection. Well, the British media has barely touched that part of Endgame, but at least Entertainment Tonight asked Scobie about it:

An alleged affair between Prince William and a former bestie of wife Kate Middleton, is picking up steam once again after royal expert Omid Scobie brought up the subject in his new book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival. But it’s exactly that, alleged. And Scobie’s not buying that anything ever actually went down between William and Rose Hanbury, though he can understand why the rumor spread like wildfire when it first surfaced.

“Unfortunately, if a rumor’s left to kind of do its own thing it can run 20 laps around the world before you even think about what, how you want to kind of address it,” the royal expert and author tells ET’s Kevin Frazier in an exclusive interview. “They never addressed it, so those rumors will never go away even though there’s no truth to suggest that they are true.”

“I was very careful in the book to really focus on this, as the allegations against William, Kate’s and their fallout with Rose Hanbury,” he said. “For legal reasons there are so many things that one can’t go into but I thought it was really important, even if a rumor is a rumor. And I really don’t see proof that there is more to this than just a tittle-tattle, you know.”

But while Scobie says he sees no truth to the rumor, he concludes the palace addressed it indirectly — by offering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as sacrificial lambs amid their fallout with the palace.

“I thought it was really interesting to analyze how the palace dealt with that,” the author says in reference to U.K. journalists digging around for any shred of evidence that might suggest the extramarital affair was true. “The worst case scenarios that they feared would happen, you know, just those rumors themselves were going to have enough impact, negatively, on William’s reputation. We still see them [the rumors] trend on Twitter on a regular basis … that’s something that’s incredibly damaging, I think, for William. It probably looks even worse, actually, that there was a kind of willingness to throw Harry under the bus simply to make these things disappear.”

[From ET]

LMAO. “We still see them [the rumors] trend on Twitter on a regular basis.” I wish Scobie had gotten a chance to mention the “Prince of Pegging” rumor, because that trends on Twitter all the time too. “I really don’t see proof that there is more to this than just a tittle-tattle, you know.” Over the years, I’ve developed and added to the theory about how it all went down – the affair, then Kate found out and tried to pull rank on Rose, and then Rose outed the affair as a way to put Kate in her place. I genuinely think that’s how it happened. It also feels like there was a real lack of discretion among the aristo set – they were openly gossiping about the affair during dinner parties and such. It probably would have stayed that way – an exclusively aristo story – if Kate hadn’t tried to snub Rose. That being said, Rose and Kate did make up and it seems like Kate learned her lesson on that count. It’s sad when your husband’s former mistress invites you to pity dinners at her house, but that’s the way these people roll.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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61 Responses to “Scobie: The Prince William-Rose Hanbury rumors ‘will never go away’”

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  1. Well of course they will never go away because I believe they are true. Don’t know why Omid is so squeamish about this. As Kaiser has said “ these people don’t know how to manage themselves out of a paper bag “. Their PR is lousy because they hire yes men so it never will change. The clown show will continue.

    • Slush says:

      I think he’s going about this the right way. He’s squeamish because he doesn’t want to get sued – he said himself he has no proof. Talking about the *rumor* allows him to address the fallout without claiming facts he doesn’t have.

      It’s fine for us on this gossip blog to sit here and say we believe it happened, but he is a journalist and should hold himself to a higher standard than “I believe but can’t confirm”

    • Jais says:

      Honestly, it’s letting the facts sit there for themselves. He doesn’t have to have an opinion on whether the affair actually happened. William was so scared at even the hint of an affair coming out that he threw his brother to the wolves. People can infer from that what they will. And they will infer that William has something to hide. And that he’s an absolutely terrible brother.

    • Lucy says:

      He doesn’t have any evidence and there was some kind of injunction for a while. I think it’s clever that he’s focusing on the provable palace and press machinations around it. He brings the subject up, and even by saying he doesn’t see proof of it, he’s streisanding it. And he’s also right in that, it’s kind of boring even if true (unless they have kids together, which probably not), but the palace/press reactions are more important because of how they are handled.

    • Couch Potato says:

      Maybe the RR and Omid know it’s a cover-up, but they can’t write or say anything about it.

      • Slush says:

        Maybe!

        But also, I dont think it really matters as far as Omid or the book is concerned. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the book focuses on the attempts to bury the rumor – that burying happened whether the affair really happened or it was totally made up.

    • Hart says:

      If it wasn’t true why did the old wicked stepmother invited Rose Hanbury to the coronation and Kate didn’t know about it.
      They’re only trying to say it’s a rumor because there may or may not be a baby involved.

  2. sevenblue says:

    The photo of the two couples where Kate’s phony smiley look tells a million stories will be the one which will survive decades just like the photo of teenage sad Diana meeting with Camilla.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      sevenblue, are you talking about the photo where Cant is smiling with a rather cat who ate the canary smile, while Rose is looking down and Wont has the look on his face as he looks toward them? That will live in infamy.

  3. Libra says:

    Kate smirking in the garden party photo is a whole story in itself. Who is she looking at? And why the knowing smirk? Why is Rose so glum? Every time I see this I wonder what the story is.

    • The Duchess says:

      I think that was her trying to pull rank over Rose until of course Rose publicly put Keen in her place. I bet Keen isn’t smirking at the pity dinners she’s invited to over at Houghton these days.

  4. Brassy Rebel says:

    What William did to Harry and to Meghan was not just despicable. It was a panic move. I find it hard to believe anyone would throw their own brother to the howling media pack unless he really had something very damaging to hide. Was it Rose? Was it an affair with her husband? Maybe it was William and Christian Jones. 🤔

    • Roan Inish says:

      Why would Rose out the fact that there was an affair with Wills and her? It could be she did that to protect a far worse story that was true and a story that could damage HER family. If Wills was carrying on with David…

    • Murphy says:

      He learned from the best, Charles started throwing Harry under the bus when he was like 13

    • jemmy says:

      @Brassy Rebel – I think he did it because primarily he was trying to destroy Meghan’s reputation and He did not want Harry to marry Meghan in the first place. He may have felt intimated by Meghan but also thought Harry could do better. By viscously attacking Meghan , he & the wider family were hoping that Meghan will up and leave the UK . What he didn’t figure was that Harry would also leave. Nobody ie the” born ins” in that family in recent memory had left.

      Had Harry and Meghan embarked on a long courtship one is almost certain that the RF/ BM would have ensured that Meghan was driven out of town ( through discouragement) before any marriage could go ahead.

      He also may have been trying to cover his tracks – but I feel this is a lesser consideration because there is a possibility that had Harry married a lady that was palatable to Willnot, then the would have been more inclined to be less vicious in exposing Harry & the lady to the press. He may have looked for some other way of covering his tracks or be less racist in going about it.
      In his mind or maybe based or what he had been made to believe, he had a major say in whom Harry was to marry. Him throwing Harry under the bus was a demonstration of influence and “power”

    • Nic919 says:

      I listened to endgame over the weekend and the level to which they protected Christian Jones when he was clearly leaking info to Wootton despite Harry having evidence and going to Scotland Yard suggests that Christian jones has something on William. Possibly they were a thing, or if it was a one time thing there is video of it and given to Wootton.

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        And didn’t Wootton have to scurry back to NZ or wherever he’s from because his own hobby of collecting kompromat on others was revealed? This is all linked to Wootton in the end. Pardon the pegging pun. 🫣

      • Jais says:

        What’s interesting to me was that Christian actually vented to Omid about this, actually telling him how stressed he was about burying the rumor. That’s a lot of access and rapport . And also somewhat unprofessional on Jones’ part. He was so stressed he made a deal with the devil, whooton. Jones has a cushy job now right? Wonder if he’ll be questioned at any future court dates.

  5. Her Again says:

    This seems like more confirmation that Will is in the closet….

    • Lucy says:

      That’s a really interesting take. He doesn’t think anything happened with Rose because he knows it was actually David/male aristo. Clever!

      • Her again says:

        Not to mention, Rose’s husband, David, has always seemed incredibly (and oddly) UN-bothered by the rumors about Rose & Will…..plus there have been rumors for years about David possibly being on the DL, as well……..

    • Bettyrose says:

      That’s sad though. Affairs are just good fun. Being closeted if true could contribute to his frustration and rage. As heir, he can’t be fully open about, and in this day and he doesn’t have the luxury of secrecy his closeted ancestors did. Although he’s produced three heirs. Maybe he could just come out.

      • sparrow says:

        Just good fun? For whom? Certainly not the spouses or the potential broken up families.

      • Bettyrose says:

        An aristocratic affair in circles where it’s expected and socially acceptable. I was distinguishing between gossip involving Rose and gossip suggesting William is struggling with having to deny his true identity.

      • sparrow says:

        Thank you for the clarification, Bettyrose. It’s appreciated. There’s this idea however that bed hopping is still rampant within these groups. It isn’t. Not from my partner’s experience with them, anyway. That makes him sound like he tried it on, was too ugly, and was told to go away! Not like that at all. Step back from Downton Abbey!!

      • notasugarhere says:

        sparrow, Kate went into the marriage knowing William was a cheat, would always be a cheat, and she and Mummy agreed to the arrangement as long as it stayed quiet. Kate’s no victim here, she’s a willing participate getting a lavish taxpayer lifestyle and being the public wife.

      • bettyrose says:

        @Notasugar – This thread is making me rethink the Rose situation. We know that Kate didn’t consider cheating a deal breaker (not to say she didn’t consider it hurtful, but she wanted something much more than she wanted fidelity).

        With the speculation that it wasn’t Rose he was sleeping with, or even if it was Rose, I’m thinking that the breaking point for Kate was his friendship with Rose, their shared secrets and intimacy.

    • Laura D says:

      Its sad if William is closeted as he is ‘trapped’ in a role whereby he can never really be himself. However, if he is why did Kate go out of her way to let the papers know she wanted William to ‘freeze’ Rose out?

      • sparrow says:

        It is also hugely, if not more so, sad for Kate. Please see my post below about being married to someone who is closeted and likely lying about it, to the point that the wife has been denied her basic right to make an informed choice at the point of engagement, have a fulfilling sex life, and years without being lied to by her husband about why he doesn’t want sex. So, in this case, my feelings go first to Kate.

      • Bettyrose says:

        I mentioned this on a previous thread but the closeted theory doesn’t ring true to me because Kate would have been a perfect cover and instead he cheated on her repeatedly with other women. That said, I absolutely buy that he enjoys discreet affairs with other married aristo men. Bisexual dalliances aren’t the same thing as a secret yearning to be partnered with another man.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Bettyrose, I’m not buying the closeted stories either. William may be a sexual opportunist, but 99% of those dalliances are with women because that’s who he wants.

      • sparrow says:

        Bettyrose. I agree. I think he cheated on Kate while at uni etc and that she waited it out until she got the engagement. I don’t believe she ever expected to be used as a front to his possible homosexuality. If so, I hope he told her and she was allowed to make a proper choice about what her married life would be like. If she consented, that’s her look out. I really don’t feel sorry for him. Sorry! If she splits up from him, I hope she gets a shot at an honest marriage. I imagine she’s on constant look out for his moods and behaviour. She may also reach out and apologise to parties she has inflicted her nastiness on. I’m thinking her sister in law. Part of her behaviour is, I’m sure, driven by a jealousy of Meghan’s marriage.

      • sparrow says:

        notasugarhere. There’s cheating and cheating. I’m talking sexual, not emotional, cheating. If he is straight and cheats, and she knows this, which I believe she does, there’s that. This cheating could still leave her with an element of possible attraction for him, sexually, simply by being a woman, and that also applies if he’s bisexual. She may feel this is enough: he cheats, but he still finds me attractive sometimes and we have a sex life around that. If however he is gay, she’ll know she never has a chance of being sexually attractive to him. I’d rather be with a known straight or bisexual cheater, which would still give me a chance of feeling attractive and with a sex life of sorts, than a gay cheater. God, does this make sense. I’d rather know all aspects of a cheating partner, just so I’m fully informed, and therefore able to arrange an open marriage or a split
        if I can’t cope with it. Thing is, I wouldn’t choose to be with a cheater. The above is written from the perspective of what I think Kate is: she knows he cheats; is OK (as much as she can be) with that; they have a sex life of sorts.

      • bettyrose says:

        @Sparrow – I wouldn’t wish an unhappy marriage on anyone, and there’s probably never been a better time in history for women to be single. Life is full of possibilities if you’re not shackled to an emotional manipulator. But the main thing I feel sorry for Kate for is that she was groomed for this life. I think she’s someone who genuinely has no sense of herself and would be absolutely lost without her identity as “Will’s wife.” I don’t think I’m infantilizing her to say that – while she may be perfectly capable of machiavellian schemes and cruelty – she’s not psychologically equipped to find a new identity. Jane Austen could have a field day writing Kate as the antagonist in an updated novel.

      • sparrow says:

        bettyrose. Totally agree. I think Kate has been used by her husband, the institution, her mother, and her own twisted wish for this role in life. I sincerely believe they lead separate lives and that she is lost. I’d leave. She won’t. She has never fully grown up, so has bugger all chance at making a life on her own, esp as an ex royal.

  6. Miracles says:

    He threw his pregnant black sister in law under the bus!!!

  7. Nan says:

    That last pic in order…”Arrogance,” “Ignorance,” “Shame”…and sneaking in at the end, “I know nothing.”

  8. M says:

    They act like William is the only person affected by the rumors. Imagine poor Rose getting her name dragged left and right over that loser. It seems that she and her husband have a satisfactory arrangement (assuming the rumors about him are true also). The aristo set operates in plain sight when it comes to affairs, and they cover for each other constantly. I doubt William has only had one affair.

  9. Becks1 says:

    I like how Omid is handling this. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if the rumors were actually true or not. It matters what William and KP did to shield William from them – threatening legal action and then offering up H&M. Remember what M said – she wasn’t being fed to the wolves, she was being thrown to them.

    (I mean I guess it matters to a certain extent, but I believe William would have acted similarly if they were true or false.)

  10. MaryContrary says:

    Do they even go to Amner anymore? I wonder if the story that they’ve made up and are still hanging with the Turnips Toffs is even true?

  11. Lau says:

    Or maybe William moved on with another mistress so Kate thought it would be fine to be friend with Rose again ? I mean the last few things we learn about Kate made her look as if she doesn’t have that many friends (or any at all) so she’ll probably trying to not appear completely alone.

  12. Jaded says:

    Rose and Kate were never “besties.” Yes they ran in the same social circles but the aristo set merely tolerated her, she was never a full-fledged member. Remember, Kate doesn’t really have female friends, they’re all competition to her. She may be good at putting up a friendly front to worm her way into the inner sanctum, but that’s about it. We all conjecture about William having an affair with Rose, or with David, or maybe he got into a threesome with them, but whatever went down caused William to throw his brother and Meghan under the bus to deflect, and then slammed down an injunction against further reporting. All of this to say where there’s smoke there’s fire and Omid is being as careful as possible to not jeopardize his reputation as an honest journo and writer, but to tacitly conjecture that it could be possible.

    • Jay says:

      I also think that the Turnip Toff/Tatler incident probably revealed to Kate how tenuous her position really is. She may have learned how to sound like or “run” with the toffs, but she is not one of them, and never will be. Perhaps not having grown up in aristo circles, she could be forgiven for assuming that “future queen” would mean she was top of the heap, but that turned out to be a grave error.

  13. Beverley says:

    At the risk of seeming shallow, I cannot for the life of me see Rose as a great beauty. She is always praised for her classic good looks, and I have to wonder if one of the British standards of beauty is a weak, receding chin.

    As for Omid, I appreciate the way he’s handling himself. He is a journalist, not a gossip columnist.

    As for the king suing, who can he go after? The names were revealed in the Dutch copy of Endgame. Can he sue outside of the UK? Can he sue Omid? It’s my understanding that Omid is currently based in the US. Omid has broken no laws here. And the Sussexes can’t be held legally accountable for anything Omid writes. So the palace threats are empty.

    This threat display, tame as it is, is for the audiences at home: the British subjects. Gotta show some outrage and make promises to put the two non-white “troublemakers” (Meghan and Omid) “in their place”. This is just red meat for the derangers and bigots.

  14. sparrow says:

    I feel sorry for various people when this story comes up. Meghan, Harry and their at that point unborn baby (and later their other child) who were cruelly used as deflection for this alleged affair. I feel sorry for the spouses and children on the other side of the parties. If true, Rose’s children. If true, Kate (perhaps not so much given how the story was used by her husband and herself) but definitely their three kids. This story will be easily accessible to George and his siblings as they grow up. For people saying it’s actually William and Rose’s husband who had the affair. In a marriage with a closeted spouse/partner it is of course bad for that gay person. However, spare a thought for the other person in the relationship who, for want of a better word, can spend years being gaslit and find the whole thing as traumatic if not more so than their partner. One of my uni friends is now in the process of a divorce from her husband, who announced last year that he always been gay but just wanted kids. She spent years being told he had a low sex drive. She went months and months at a time without any sex, let alone touch. She believed him when he said he wasn’t that into sex. He denied and denied until she felt as if she couldn’t trust her instincts. This is gaslighting. She felt unattractive for years and has as she says “had her best years” taken from her sexually. He meanwhile had gay affairs and is now being applauded for having the “bravery” to come out. She is in counselling. Affairs are poisonous. Communication and honesty are key. If William had an affair with the husband, there is no difference to the hurt here.

    • Lady Digby says:

      @ Sparrow I watched Maestro on Saturday and it made me wonder if W is like Bernstein really gay but obliged to marry to have a family? Does this explain his incendiary anger at having to live a lie and the desperation of a cover up over an affair with a man? Nothing excuses throwing MH under the bus . Why is W so angry all time? He got money, land, power and is FK and has lovely children and fawning press and wifey playing piano at Christmas to look forward to? Why hasn’t he got contentment and peace of mind?

      • sparrow says:

        Exactly. This would explain his anger, emotional and physical. I feel for Kate in this situation, and I don’t often pity her! You’d think men in certain sections of Western society wouldn’t have to go through this unhappy charade any more, a charade that can make women victims of largely sexless marriages, but William is in a group peculiar to monarchy. I want to feel sorry for him, but I can’t. I hope Kate knew about this aspect of his life before she said “yes”. The reason I don’t feel sorry for him – he has used his brother as part of the charade and inflicted huge emotional damage on him and his sister. My pity for Kate is qualified by her apparent ease to go along with William in this regard. Was the film good?! Thinking of seeing it.

      • Sportie says:

        @Lady Digby “Why is W so angry all time? He got money, land, power and is FK and has lovely children and fawning press and wifey playing piano at Christmas to look forward to? Why hasn’t he got contentment and peace of mind?”

        None of those things guarantee you freedom and happiness. William has neither freedom or from all appearances happiness. If he was truly happy he wouldn’t need or want to do anything to hurt others much less his brother.

        As they say, “the best revenge is happiness” , William see’s that his brother is truly happy and that pisses William off. If he can’t be happy then nobody can.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        I keep going back to the fact that I don’t think he wanted to marry Khate. I think Chuck did the marry her or ct her loose–isn’t that what supposedly Philip did to Chuck? Some ultimatum? He’s been photographed with plenty of women Dad dancing and getting handsy over quite a long time. He might be bisexual, but I don’t think he’s gay. Who can know.

        I don’t think he’s a happy person. I’ve wondered more than once if he wanted to be King, and then became resigned to it and bought into the whole power trip of it. Along with the wealth, of course. It’ll be interesting to see what he and Khate do. I just cannot see these two being together for another 40-50 years. It’s clear they don’t want to be together now.

  15. Mary Pester says:

    Of course it happened, and I believe as does Kaiser that Rose was the leak so as to put that little social climbing oik in her place, I also believe Rose wasn’t /isn’t the only furrow willy ploughs!! But princess ( mummy says I must get the crown) keen, will put up and shut up!

  16. JaneS says:

    Why does anyone care?
    The men of the senior level in the BRF do whatever they want. Always have, always will.
    Look how Charles treated Diana.
    Rumors of Phillip having affairs are still out there, even tho he’s dead.
    Princess Margaret and her Husband were both known to be cheating, had a miserable marriage.
    Andrew, enough said.

    The wealth hoarding class, has always acted that There.Are.No.Rules for them.

    APB knew for many years that Cam was cheating with Charles. Looked the other way.
    I think Rose husband would too. Theses people don’t give up their status or connections easily.

    The very wealthy are NOT like us.

    • MsIam says:

      If that is the case, then why go to the extreme to destroy Harry and especially Meghan. I mean if affairs are business as usual among that set then Rose and William would be NBD right? Could it be jealousy and *gasp* racism are involved? William is a sadistic monster to unleash all of this hell upon his brother and sister in law, just to cover up some casual dalliance with Rose. I mean I get being envious of someone but this stuff is unhinged and very few people speak out about it. I guess its also a useful covering for hiding even more nefarious deeds.

      • Sportie says:

        I think probably because William wants people to think he’s the perfect family man/father/husband, it’s his image, it’s all he has. If this hadn’t gone public I don’t think he would care if his class of people know. It was having it out in the general public that crossed the line. All William manages to do (as his father also does) is the Streisand Effect. Why they haven’t learned to just ignore everything, it’ll be news for a day and then will be forgotten and swept under the rug for them by the media.

  17. Lauren says:

    Everyone keeps talking about how the palace is protecting Christian Jones but aren’t they really protecting William? If it went to a court case Christian Jones defense would be that he wasn’t leaking he was following the instructions of the heir to the throne. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out the money supposedly paid to Christian Jones and his partner found its way to William in the end as well.

  18. aquarius64 says:

    The reason Rose won’t go away is because William took legal action on the reporting. If it were nosense theynwould have let it ride. I mentioned this before, but would the big scandal would constitute a line of succession issue? There’s been Twitter chatter that William has a child as a result from an affair. The child can’t be in the line of succession but it would be a disgrace if William is not providing for him/her. If William has a side dude George, Charlotte, and Louis’s parentage would be questioned.

    • sevenblue says:

      I think the issue was more than just a story. In Endgame, Omid writes that the tabloid journalists were going to Rose’s house to get the story. They were basically harassing her, probably her friends, family too. Willy needed the story to get buried since it was getting too much attention. Also, even if an affair isn’t that important in the big picture, Willy was trying to sell himself as different than his father: a devoted family man. It would ruin the facade they built so far.

  19. Cristina M says:

    What I’ve come to believe is that Rose wasn’t the one William cheated with. I think she was the one who facilitated the affair and possibly many others and that’s what led to the “breakdown” of the friendship. My gut tells me that Scobie isn’t lying when he says there wasn’t a rumor about Rose and Will, because there wasn’t an actual affair between them two.

  20. JaneS says:

    If William has a child from an affair it still does not change anything in the line of succession.
    Line of succession is for children born into a royal marriage, only.
    There is no question G, C, L are certainly Williams blood children, look at them!

    Now, if William does in fact have another child, which I highly doubt, I think with SM, tabs, etc. these days it would be known by now.

    No one actually cares these days. Prince Albert has several older, now grown children and he has always financially provided for them IIRC.
    His young children w/Princess C are next in line.

  21. JaneS says:

    I remember reading somewhere a long time ago, that access to the BRF is part of how they keep their secrets.
    If you are truly in their inner circle ” You keep your mouth shut” or they cut you out.
    And so does everyone else in their crowd.

    These useless idiots are all so tight with each other.
    Generational wealth and social privilege. And still so much about being “Of the correct class, Our type of people”

    Btw, William had better keep fit bc his general looks are going downhill at lightening speed.
    All I can say for him is Tall, good shoulders. Still not clever, bright, hard working, charming or kind to his only brother.

  22. J.Ferber says:

    So Kate could allow a white woman f-cking Kate’s husband to put Kate in her place and Kate then later forgave her. What a far cry from how she treated Meghan, her sister-in-law who was only trying to be nice to her.