The news was heartbreaking. This spring, more than two months after Princess Kate underwent a mysterious abdominal surgery, questions about her health exploded when a photo was released of her and her children that had clearly been doctored. Kate ended the speculation by announcing on March 22 that post-surgery, she’d been diagnosed with cancer and had started chemotherapy. As the world rallied to support her, loving messages poured into Kensington Palace, including one from estranged in-laws Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement, “and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
Few expected they’d hear back. But despite years of drama and Harry’s ongoing feud with brother Prince William, something remarkable happened: Kate, 42, secretly called Harry, a royals source exclusively tells Life & Style. “Everyone assumes Kate doesn’t like Harry, but they have a special bond that not many people really understand,” explains the source. “She and Harry were extremely close at one time. She’s confided in him during some of her darkest moments, and now that includes her cancer battle.”
Amid her incredibly heavy ordeal, adds the source, “Kate’s leaned on Harry for support.”
Kate Middleton Leans On Prince Harry After Cancer Diagnosis
It just sort of happened. “Meghan was blindsided and felt, maybe, a bit betrayed at first,” says the source. But, the source believes, the gravity of Kate’s diagnosis has allowed Meghan to, at least for now, set aside the mutual animosity and disappointment the Waleses and the Sussexes have felt for each other in recent years. “She accepts that she wasn’t around when Kate and Harry first became friends” more than two decades ago, notes the source. Meghan, 42, knows that Harry, 39, “really respected and admired Kate before things got bad between all of them.”
William was also caught off guard, though. “He was surprised and concerned” by Kate’s decision, shares the source, considering how angry he still is with his brother for airing dirty laundry in his 2023 memoir, Spare — laying bare their fraught relationship as siblings, and accusing the royal family of racial bias in its treatment of Meghan. Make no mistake, William, 41, “continues to have trust issues with Harry,” says the source, but he and Kate have never faced anything like this — on top of her cancer, King Charles III, 75, has also been in treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer since February — so if Kate thinks talking to Harry will help her deal with the situation, William “won’t interfere.”
Those who know the brothers understand that they’re different people. “While Kate loves William and she does confide in her husband, it’s easier to talk about certain things with Harry,” the source tells Life & Style. “He’s always been a good listener.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Relationship With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Kate’s once close relationship with Harry became collateral damage amid his deepening feud with William, which the Duke of Sussex claims truly began when they were still boys grieving the death of their mother, Princess Diana. Friction grew after Meghan came into the picture. In his memoir, Harry described a few clashes with Kate — claiming she made Meghan cry before their wedding over the fit of daughter Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress and overreacted when Meghan made a light-hearted comment about Kate having “baby brain” after son Prince Louis’ birth in 2018.
However, Harry also made his deep affection for Kate clear, writing that when William married her, “I loved my new sister-in-law, I felt she was more sister than in-law, the sister I’d never had and always wanted, and I was pleased that she’d forever be standing by Willy’s side.”
In many ways, Kate — like Meghan — was dragged into the drama that was building between their husbands. “There were many incidents, before and after Meghan came into the picture, where Kate played peacemaker for the brothers,” notes the source, who believes that and the recent calls are a sign “there’s still hope” for a royal reunion between the two couples.
Though Meghan was scheduled to stay home in California, Harry’s trip to London for a service marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games — the sporting competition he founded for injured soldiers — on May 8, could’ve provided a trial run. Alas, there were no public plans for any senior royals to attend. While Harry would like to think his calls with Kate could signal a larger thaw, says the source, for now, he’s not expecting more. “Harry, William, Kate and Meghan haven’t put the past behind them just yet,” adds the source. “For the first time in a long time, though, there’s promise.”
