MANY royal fans have been hoping for a reconciliation between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Californian-based Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
However, a royal expert has claimed that there may be “no way back”, particularly for Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
Royal expert Tom Quinn claims that Meghan “doesn’t feel any guilt” about distancing from Kate and thinks she should have supported her more when she was in the UK.
He told : “Meghan doesn’t feel guilty about Kate, because she feels that Kate should’ve been the one person in the royal family to back her against every difficulty.
"Apart from anything else, Meghan knew Kate was an outsider, so she just couldn’t understand why Kate always towed the royal line rather than supporting her, Meghan, the other outsider."
When Kate revealed her recent serious health battle, royal commentators thought it could be the perfect way to unite the warring family and fix their ongoing rift - particularly with King Charles’ struggles too.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a short statement following Kate's brave cancer shock announcement, but Tom says it isn’t enough to help their relationship.
He added: "Kate’s cancer diagnosis has been a real shock for Meghan, but she can see no way to patch up the relationship simply because it has become so poisonous.
“She also doesn’t want people saying that she is trying to make things up with Kate just because Kate is ill. Meghan still feels Kate was in the wrong and should apologise before they try to build bridges."
The royal expert also claimed that Prince Harry is stuck in the middle of wife Meghan and sister-in-law Kate.
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He added that the Duke of Sussex losing his close friendship with Kate is his “second great loss after his mother”.
It is claimed that when Kate and William first met Meghan back in 2016, they didn’t get off to the best start.
: “In truth, there had been a degree of frisson almost as soon as Meghan officially arrived on the royal scene in 2016 to a lukewarm reception from ‘formal’ William and Kate, who as well as finding her ‘a little full on’, had no idea she would be a keeper, having met a succession of Harry's girlfriends.”
While Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that when he brought Meghan round to meet his brother and sister-in-law, Kate remained in the garden playing with the children instead of greeting her.
It was later claimed Meghan left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte's dress in the run-up to her royal wedding in 2018.
But, in an explosive tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed it was Kate that made HER cry just days before her wedding.
Timeline of Kate's health battles
JANUARY 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery
JAN 17: Kensington Palace announce the princess underwent surgery
JAN 18: William spends time at Kate’s bedside
JAN 23: The princess’ hospital stay passes one week
JAN 29: Kate leaves hospital
FEBRUARY 27: Prince William pulls out of service last-minute due to ‘personal matter’, sparking wave of unfounded conspiracy theories about Kate’s health
MARCH 4: Princess pictured in the car with mum Carole on the Windsor estate
MARCH 10: Royal posts a sweet snap of her and the kids for Mother’s Day – then fans started spotting flaws, and massive agencies put out ‘kill notice’ on photo
MARCH 11: Kate admits she edited photo, and is snapped in car with William
MARCH 16: Royal fans spot the princess at farm shop near Windsor
MARCH 17: Onlookers see Kate watching her youngsters playing sport
MARCH 18: The Sun exclusively published video of Kate and Wills from two days prior
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from the Royal Family four years ago and have since made a number of shocking allegations about the royals.
Their relationship has only worsened after the Sussexes made a number of accusations against the Royal Family in their Netflix docuseries.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams exclusively told The Sun: "The best way of resolving the rift, if it is to be resolved, is to do it privately.
Kate’s cancer diagnosis has been a real shock for Meghan, but she can see no way to patch up the relationship simply because it has become so poisonous.
Tom Quinn
"With Catherine and the King’s illness - that is an enormous game changer even when there are deep family rifts.
"The two very senior members of the royal family, are very, are seriously ill, and you can't really predict what's what's going to happen.
"So, as I say, the Sussexes do spring surprises. This has happened before, and you never know what might happen in the coming weeks or months.
"But I don't think Harry would do anything without Megan's consent.”
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This follows speculation Wills and Kate extended an olive branch to the Sussexes, inviting them to the UK with kids Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, as reported by the .
But Richard pulled no punches when he described the feud between The Wales' and Sussexes as "one of the most public royal rifts that has ever been".