Princess Kate will "fight fire with fire" if Harry and Meghan make any more royal revelations, source says

"Kate’s not afraid to take the gloves off and play dirty if she has to."

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2018 in London, England.
(Image credit: Photo by Clive Mason / Getty)

It has recently been reported that it was Princess Kate who pushed for the phrase "recollections may vary" to be included in the Royal Family's statement after Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview aired.

Apparently, the now-Princess of Wales felt it was important to "toughen up" the overall message, and not make it seem like they were confirming everything that had been said in the bombshell interview.

Now, a source has said that Kate would do it again if the Sussexes were to make more damning claims about the royals.

"Kate is fiercely protective when it comes to defending her family and the overall interests of the Royal Family. If that means fighting fire with fire at times then she’s more than willing to do so — even if it makes her less popular with certain people," the source told Closer.

"In this case she felt a polite but strong message needed to be sent back to the Sussexes — namely that there were other interpretations and views about certain events and instances, which the world needed to know in no uncertain terms."

The source added: "Make no mistake, she’d do the same again — she’s made it clear she’ll fight these continual scandalous accusations for the sake of her family."

After the Sussexes spoke candidly to Oprah Winfrey about their royal exit, the Palace issued the following statement:

"The whole family is 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. 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."

Fast forward to today, Closer's source concluded: "The bottom line here is that Kate’s not afraid to take the gloves off and play dirty if she has to. It’s about self-preservation and not being walked all over, but also what’s fair and right at the end of the day, too."

Harry and Meghan's relationships with the current senior working royals have been terribly strained since they moved to California, which has not been helped by revelations made to Oprah, as well as via their Netflix docuseries and Harry's memoir Spare.

Hopefully they can all reconcile sooner rather than later.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.