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The inside story behind the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex's relationship has always been a subject of public interest, especially when conflicting accounts of the same event emerge. Over the years, speculation has been rife about what went on behind the scenes during Meghan Markle's brief stint as a working royal.

Speaking to the Daily Express following the release of his new book, Kate! The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen, author Christopher Andersen said: "Catherine and Meghan Markle just never clicked. The cultural gap was just too wide. Meghan obviously didn't realise what she was getting into, and, in contrast, Catherine has an innate sense of history, duty, and loyalty to the Crown.

"We have to remember that, unlike all her predecessors, Catherine wasn't born into this role."

Mr Andersen went on: "She's the descendant of coal miners from County Durham, and her roots are very middle-class. Catherine will not just be the first genuine commoner queen, she will be the first working-class queen and the first university-educated queen.

"Catherine feels privileged to be in the position that she is in. She takes nothing for granted. Meghan does not enjoy playing second fiddle to anybody and would rather be an influencer than a shaper of English history."

Claims of challenging relationships between the Waleses and the Sussexes are not new. Writing in his tell-all book, William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, earlier this year, the Daily Mirror's royal editor, Russell Myers, claimed that the Princess of Wales knew Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "weren't to be trusted" and that any engagement with the pair should be treated with "the utmost of caution".

He wrote: "In the aftermath of Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview, the Sussexes' version of how the family and the institution had conspired against them had created a siege mentality in the palace. Harry's presence at the funeral just ensured these feelings stayed fresh in everyone's minds."

He continues: "William and Catherine were both wounded by the numerous accusations and the presentation of Harry and Meghan's 'truth'.

"William was most aggrieved by Harry's assertion that he was "trapped" in the system, while Catherine felt deeply let down over Meghan's disclosure of a private exchange, which sparked claim and counterclaim regarding the fitting of dresses before the Sussexes' 2018 wedding.

"It compounded, in Catherine's mind, a key difference between her and Meghan, who she no longer believed she could trust.

"A source said: 'She (Catherine) was very clear that any engagement with Harry or Meghan should be with the utmost of caution because it was obvious that they weren't to be trusted.'"

One of the major difficulties in the relationship between the Princess of Wales and Meghan allegedly stemmed from an exchange over Princess Charlotte's flower girl dress ahead of Harry and Meghan's wedding.

Meghan referred to the incident in her sit-down with Oprah Winfrey. She explained: "A few days before the wedding she was upset about something, pertaining to, yes, the issue was correct, about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.

"It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something, but she owned it and she apologised and she brought me flowers and a note apologising, and she did what I would do if I knew that I'd hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it."

Other sides of the story have emerged, with it also claimed that Meghan made Catherine cry, rather than the other way around. In Tom Bower's 2022 book, Revenge, he wrote that "Meghan compared Ivy [Mulroney] favourably against [Princess] Charlotte" when discussing her young bridesmaids, causing Catherine to cry.