Kate Middleton Played Role In Palace's Response To Meghan's Claims About Royal Family: Book

Kate Middleton and Prince William toughened up Buckingham Palace's response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's claims about the royal family in their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, a new royal book has claimed.

During the sit-down, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed that there were "concerns and conversations about how dark" their son Archie's "skin might be when he's born." In response, Buckingham Palace released a statement that noted that "some recollections may vary" regarding the royal couple's claims in the interview.

Journalist and royal author Valentine Low claimed in a new edition of his book "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown" that Middleton played a significant role in the inclusion of the said line in the palace's statement, according to an excerpt obtained by the U.K.'s The Times. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Low quoted an anonymous source who claimed that the palace initially had "a much milder version" of the "recollections" sentence. However, the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly wanted to "toughen up" the palace's statement, the source claimed.

"The debate was, do you rise entirely above it and offer the olive branch of [Harry and Meghan being] 'much-loved members of the family'? Or is there some moment when you have to intervene and offer a view?" the source said.

Prince William and Middleton "were both of one mind that we needed something that said that the institution did not accept a lot of what had been said," the source claimed.

Another source alleged to the author that Middleton insisted that the phrase be kept in the palace's response. The tipster added that Middleton doesn't get as much credit as she deserves.

"It was Kate who clearly made the point, 'History will judge this statement and unless this phrase or a phrase like it is included, everything that they have said will be taken as true,'" the second unnamed source claimed.

The source continued, "She does not get as much credit as she should, because she is so subtle about it. She is playing the long game. She has always got her eye on, 'This is my life and my historic path and I am going to be Queen one day.'"

However, the book also claimed that some sources credited the statement to Prince William's private secretary Jean-Christophe Gray, while others attributed it to Sir Clive Alderton.

Back in March 2021, the royal family responded to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tell-all with Winfrey by releasing a statement saying it was "saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan."

"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning," it continued. "While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members."