Due to a tough pregnancy, the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t have “much energy” to engage with her future sister-in-law Meghan Markle in the run-up to the Sussexes’ royal wedding, according to a new book.

Kate and Will revealed their pregnancy with Prince Louis in September 2018, only two months before Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in November of the same year.

As a result, Kate was pregnant for much of the wedding planning, according to the Mirror.

And Kate gave birth to Prince Louis only four weeks before Harry and Meghan’s wedding date.

“Kate and Meghan were neither sisters nor, unlike Fergie and Diana, friends before they joined the Royal Family,” Andrew Morton, author of Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, writes, explaining why the two duchesses weren’t actually set up to be close (via The Sun).

He adds, “What is more, during the build-up to Meghan’s wedding, Kate was experiencing her third difficult pregnancy and was focused on her own welfare. She did not have much energy to bond with her new neighbour.

“When they sat together in the royal box to watch the Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon in July 2018, the two women were still getting to know one another. During the match, in which Meghan’s friend Serena Williams lost to Angelique Kerber, they chatted and clapped and cheered.

“Unlike Wimbledon 2016, when the cameras focused on Pippa Middleton and Anna Wintour and ignored the unknown American actor, this time they were fixated on the duo of duchesses.”

Following their combined appearance at Wimbledon, allegations circulated that Kate was “left sobbing” during a bridesmaids’ dress fitting before the wedding over a quarrel with Meghan. One of the bridesmaids was Princess Charlotte.

Meghan, on the other hand, stated that the opposite occurred during her shocking interview with Oprah Winfrey in March of this year.

Meghan merely revealed during the tell-all conversation that there “wasn’t a confrontation” and an apology was given, claiming it would be unfair to Kate to go into details about what transpired.

Morton argues that Meghan and Kate had “little opportunity” to create a truly genuine connection apart from public engagements after that.

He adds: “It was a practical matter as much as anything. Kate spent weekends and holidays at Anmer Hall, the Cambridges’ country home in Norfolk, while Meghan and Harry were approximately three hours’ drive away, living in a large, remote, rented property on the Great Tew estate in Oxfordshire.

“Harry’s dream of two united happy families seemed a long way off.”

Morton had expressed sympathy for Markle, suggesting that royal life must have been “frustrating” for her. He further stated that Markle and her husband were pressured to leave the UK by Prince William’s “alleged bullying.”