Back in her 20s, then-Kate Middleton was a regular at various posh private clubs in London. It was a pretty regular occurrence, regardless of the “Kate has never put a foot wrong” rewrite, to see Kate and Prince William falling out of private nightclubs, drunk as hell. That was a huge part of their post-university social life for the better part of a decade. That stopped for Kate once she got married. While Prince William still pops into private clubs every so often, Kate avoids all of that. I doubt she’s stepped foot inside a private club for years. Why are we talking about this? Because of the Sussexes’ UK return, and the Duchess of Sussex’s longstanding relationships within all of the Soho House clubs. Both Harry and Meghan have already been seen socializing and hanging out at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds, so clearly, they’re both members in good standing. But… but… what about Will & Kate? How will the Button Mafia show their support for Huevo & Wig??

Meghan Markle is back in Britain — and Soho House is suddenly getting dragged into the royal cold war. London society insiders tell Naughty But Nice that members are abandoning the once-unmissable private club, with some complaining Soho House has become so closely associated with Meghan that membership now feels like choosing between royals.

“Soho House is firmly Team Meghan,” a London insider tells Naughty But Nice. “In certain circles, being seen there now feels like making a statement: Meghan over Catherine. People don’t want their dinner reservation interpreted as a royal allegiance.”

Meghan’s connection to Soho House runs deep. She and Prince Harry famously dated at its Dean Street location, while her longtime friendship with executive Markus Anderson further cemented the association.

But insiders stress Meghan didn’t create the club’s problems. Longtime members were already grumbling about overcrowding, rising prices and Soho House losing the exclusivity that once made membership a status symbol.

Reports have claimed that members were already making complains about the retreat getting overcrowded and the “truly chic crowd was already drifting away”.

“Meghan didn’t cause the decline. But her return has turned an existing image problem into a cultural one. Soho House suddenly feels political,” they added. “If Meghan makes Soho Farmhouse her regular playground, it becomes ground zero.”

The insider claimed that there were only two end results to this: Either Meghan “makes it hot again”, or “folks loyal to Catherine and William run for the hills”.

[From Rob Shuter’s Substack & Geo.tv]

This is going to be like The Gentlemen, right? They’re seriously going to blame everything on Meghan, and they’re going to make up problems where none exist. Soho House’s membership rolls are declining, it’s all Meghan’s fault! People won’t want to have brunch at Soho Farmhouse, it’s Meghan’s fault! And if people still go to any of the Soho House clubs, then Kate will cry and that will be Meghan’s fault too! Incidentally, the impression I’ve gotten is that everyone with a Soho House membership WANTS to run into the Sussexes. Like, there’s genuine excitement over the sightings of them at Soho Farmhouse. And I’m sure the Soho House people are hopeful that Meghan will eventually visit the club in London, as she used to before she was married. But Kate will cry! Kate was never going to step foot in Soho House anyway. These people need to stop creating proxy wars over dumb sh-t!

Photos courtesy of Netflix, Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.