Meghan Markle 'must have been incredibly jealous' of Kate Middleton over princess's sisterly relationship with Prince Harry, says royal expert

Meghan Markle 'must have been incredibly jealous and then jealous of Kate Middleton', a royal expert has claimed.

Editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Stewart suggested that The Telegraph that the Duchess of Sussex, 42, may have been jealous of her husband Prince Harry's close brother-sister-like relationship with Kate.

“Unfortunately it points to Meghan, doesn't it? Maybe Harry had a bit of a crush on Kate,” the royal author said, before adding: “No, no, no – I don't mean physically but mentally. Remember when it was just the three of them?

'He always longed for a sister, he told Diana that. Psychologically, I think he just adored her and he was always there, in Kensington Palace, in their fridge, you know: “What's for dinner?”.

Elsewhere, Ingrid, whose new book My Mother and I is about King Charles III's relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II, said the “jealous” duchess “thought she was going to be a princess and live at Windsor Castle.”

Instead, the mother-of-two and her husband Prince Harry, who are now based in California after Megxit, were initially stuck in Nottingham Cottage, where [the Duke] used to call it 'my hovel', while 'there are William and Kate with this beautiful house'.

The royal author continued: 'I think Meghan must have been incredibly jealous and then jealous of Kate.

'I heard that Meghan actually thought she was going to be a princess and live in Windsor Castle. Instead, there's William and Kate with this beautiful house, while they're stuck in Nottingham Cottage, which Harry used to call 'my hovel.'

While Ingrid doesn't completely write off the chance of a reconciliation, she does say that distance – both physical and metaphorical – makes it somewhat unlikely.

In December, an insider told The Telegraph that Meghan “felt she had more right to speak at certain events” than Kate because she was a “self-made woman.”

The Duchess reportedly felt uncomfortable because the Prince and Princess of Wales were the superior royals in the palace hierarchy when she joined the royal family.

This was particularly the case at a Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018, a source said, where it was claimed the tension between the 'Fab Four' was 'palpable'.

Meghan felt like “a self-made woman, while Kate hadn't really had her own career,” an insider told the publication.

Magazine editor Majesty Ingrid Stewart told The Telegraph how the Duchess of Sussex (pictured), 42, 'thought she was going to be a princess and live at Windsor Castle.'

Meghan Markle 'must have been incredibly jealous and then jealous of Kate (pictured together in December 2018)', royal expert claimed

The source said: 'She seemed to feel she had more right to speak than her sister-in-law, who had married as an unknown into the family, while Meghan saw herself as a philanthropist who could teach the royals a thing or two about charity.

'I think she found it difficult that the Royal Foundation was already a well-oiled machine when she arrived.'

However, Omid Scobie previously claimed that Kate failed to build a 'meaningful' relationship with her sister-in-law Meghan in his first book Finding Freedom.

It was also reported that Meghan received a 'lukewarm' reception from the 'formal' William and Kate when her relationship with Prince Harry became serious.

As Harry wrote in his book Spare, when he first introduced Meghan to his brother, Kate had stayed in the garden – which was not the welcome they had hoped for.

It comes after the Daily Mail's Richard Eden revealed the Princess of Wales, who underwent a 'successful' planned abdominal operation more than three weeks ago, is recovering.

In a clear sign of her improvement, she was able to join her husband, Prince William, and their three children as they holidayed at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where the king is also recovering.

“Catherine is recovering well,” said a friend. 'She was looking forward to a change of scenery and will be able to take it easy in Norfolk while the kids let off some steam with William.'

The 42-year-old princess was discharged twelve days ago from the London Clinic, where she had spent almost two weeks.

In Kensington Palace's only statement on her health, a spokesperson said on January 17 that “based on current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”

The spokesperson did not provide details about the nature of her surgery, but sources said it was not for cancer.

Since leaving hospital, without being photographed, Catherine has been staying at Adelaide Cottage, the family's four-bedroom home in Windsor Home Park.

Her children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, all attend Lambrook school 15 minutes' drive away in Berkshire. They broke up on Friday for a week's holiday.