Kate Middleton’s VERY casual first meeting with her brother James’s wife Alizee – and why it casts doubt on Meghan’s claims about her own introduction to the Princess of Wales
Before her relationship with Kate fell apart amid arguments over bridesmaid dresses and “baby brain” comments, Meghan Markle claimed her sister-in-law went against her from the start because of her more casual style.
Harry’s wife recalled being “barefoot” and wearing ripped jeans when she first met Kate and said the “formal” future queen, and other members of the royal family, found it shocking that she was a “hugger” ‘ was.
However, an intriguing excerpt from a new memoir by Kate’s brother James, about the royal introduction to his current wife, Alizee, paints a very different picture of the princess.
He described how Alizee appeared in the kitchen of the Middleton family home with her hair disheveled and wearing nothing but his shirt, to find Kate, William and their three children there.
Rather than it being a problem, there was “no awkwardness at all” and by the end of the weekend, Kate Alizee had given her seal of approval, telling James that the French financier was “just wonderful.”
It suggests that whatever problems arose between Kate and Harry’s wife, Meghan’s penchant for ripped jeans was not the source of the problem.
James Middleton’s wife Alizee, pictured on holiday in Italy in 2020, wore nothing but his shirt as she met his sister Kate and Prince William for the first time
Meghan Markle wore ripped jeans to the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017 – her first ever official public appearance with Prince Harry
Alizee Thevenet and James Middleton attend the Bulgari Gala Dinner to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in July 2022
Describing Kate’s first meeting with Alizee, James said she met his family by accident when the couple decided to stay at his parents’ home in Bucklebury, Berkshire after attending a wedding nearby.
The next morning he woke up to find that they had unexpected company: William, Kate and their three children were visiting for the weekend.
“I’m about to take a cup to Alizee when she appears at the kitchen door,” he recalled.
“She just got out of bed, her hair is still a mess, and she’s wearing one of my shirts. In situations like this, Alizee is wonderfully French. She doesn’t panic or rush upstairs to get dressed. Instead, she greets everyone warmly, as if it were not unusual to meet her boyfriend’s sister and brother-in-law for the first time, wearing only an oversized men’s shirt.
“Hi,” she says, extending her hand and without any discomfort we’re soon all chatting and asking the kids all kinds of cheeky questions at 100 miles an hour.
“Then we all talk and laugh as if she has been part of the family for years.”
Meghan and Kate pictured during the women’s singles final at Wimbledon in 2019
On day two of the 2020 Invictus Games, Meghan wore slim-leg denim, a Brandon Maxwell blazer and Manolo Blahnik heeled pumps. It was a more mature version of her original 2017 Invictus Games ensemble
He added that the next day when they broke up, he had a ‘special squeeze” from his sister, who whispered in his ear, “She’s just amazing.”
Meghan Markle, on the other hand, said there was some immediate awkwardness from Kate when they first met in 2017, and attributed this to their very different styles.
Meghan said in the couple’s Netflix series Harry & Meghan that she was ‘barefoot’ and wearing ripped jeans when she first met Kate.
During the meeting, she said she was unaware that the “formality” the royal family displays in public continues behind closed doors and that she is a “hugger” – which she did not realize was “shocking to some Britons” .
She said: ‘Even when Will and Kate came over and I met her for the first time, I remember I was wearing ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t know that that is really shocking for many British people.’
‘I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried over to the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and you think, “Okay, we can relax now.”
‘But that formality works on both sides and that was surprising to me.’
Even Prince Harry referenced the two women’s different styles in his memoir Spare, recalling how William and Kate dropped by for dinner during one of Meghan’s visits from Canada.
It was the early days of their relationship and both couples were seemingly on good terms, but he said the difference between them was clear.
The Duchess of Sussex said she wore “beige, camel and white” while around other women to avoid clashing with their outfits. Pictured: Meghan with The Queen in June 2018
“The only possibly contradictory note I could think of was the striking difference in the way the two women dressed, which they both seemed to notice,” he recalled.
“Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: Done to perfection.’
Of course, the subsequent deterioration of the relationship between the Sussexes and the Waleses is well documented.
In interviews and since stepping down as working royals in early 2020, Meghan has reiterated that her fashion choices have been a source of debate.
In the third episode of the couple’s Netflix series, which aired in 2022, she said she had to “tone down” her wardrobe to fit in.
“Most of the time I was in Britain I rarely wore color,” she said.
“From what I understand, you can never wear the same color as Her Majesty if there is a group event, but then you can’t wear the same color as any of the other more senior members of the family either.”
To respect this rumored royal protocol, Meghan says she started dressing almost exclusively in camel, beige and white.
She continued, “I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also so I could just blend in.” I’m not trying to stand out here.
‘There was no version of me [that was] joining this family and not trying to do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.’