Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, opened up about her relationship with her sister-in-law, the former Kate Middleton, in her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey before she was joined by her husband, Prince Harry.
Reflecting on a story that broke after her wedding that alleged that Meghan had made Kate cry over an argument about flower girl dresses several months beforehand, Meghan told Winfrey the story was "a turning point." She added that not only did she not make Kate cry, but also "the reverse happened."
"A few days before the wedding, (Kate) was upset about something — the issue was correct, about flower girl dresses — and it made me cry and it really hurt my feelings," Meghan, who's expecting her second child, said. "I thought in the context of everything else that was going on those days leading to the wedding that it didn't make sense to not be ... trying to be supportive."
Meghan explained that "everyone in the institution" of the royal family knew the story wasn't true, but the palace didn't let anyone speak out about the issue, she said.
"It wasn't a confrontation, and I don't think it's fair to (Kate) to get into the details of that because she apologized and I've forgiven her," Meghan said. "What was hard to get over was being blamed for something not only I didn't do but that happened to me and the people who were part of our wedding going to our comms team saying, 'I know this didn't happen.'"
"I would've never wanted that to come out about her ever even though it had happened. I protected that from ever being out in the world," Meghan stressed.
"I'm not sharing that piece about Kate in any way to be disparaging to her," she continued. "I think it's really important for people to understand the truth. ... I would hope she would've wanted that corrected and maybe in the same way that the palace wouldn't let anyone else negate it, they wouldn't let her because she's a good person."
Meghan added that Kate "owned" what happened "and she brought me flowers and a note apologizing and she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, to just take accountability for it."
Asked by Winfrey about the different stance the press seems to take when covering the two duchesses, she said, "I don't know why" there's a different standard. "I can see why what layers were at play there ... They seem to want a narrative of a hero and a villain."
The press and public have long wondered about the relationship between the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, and Duchess of Sussex, 39. Kate's husband, Prince William, is second in line to the throne. Even though Meghan and Harry have stepped down as seniors members of the royal British family, he's still sixth in line to the throne.
"The narrative about making Kate cry I think was the beginning of a real character assassination," she said Sunday night. "And they knew it wasn’t true."