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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s "Megxit" decision has reportedly put a huge strain on Kate Middleton's workload.
The wife of Prince William has been forced to step up her time as a representative of the royal family now that Markle and Harry have successfully stepped back from their senior duties in order to live financially independent of the monarchy in Los Angeles. In a new report from Tatler magazine, insiders claim that the Duchess of Cambridge is starting to buckle under the workload.
"Kate understands that the only credo of the Royal Family is duty, duty, duty," one insider told the outlet. "Whereas with the Sussexes it is constant uncertainty, [the Cambridges] represent stability and continuity."
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Another source added: "Kate is furious about the larger workload. Of course she’s smiling and dressing appropriately but she doesn’t want this. She feels exhausted and trapped. She’s working as hard as a top CEO, who has to be wheeled out all the time, without the benefits of boundaries and plenty of holidays."
The outlet reports that, at a time when the royal family was marred by not only the "Megxit" news but other noteworthy scandals, Middleton took on more public engagements so that the family could save face in the wake of the negative press attention. She reportedly took on 11 royal engagements in a month, three of which were in just one day.
Although the "Megxit" decision forced Middleton to take on more work, insiders claim that the friction between Middleton and Markle goes back much further than her and Harry's announcement in January.
"I don’t think that she ever pulled Meghan under her wing and said, ‘I’ll show you the ropes,’ a friend tells Tatler. "Catherine and William were very circumspect from the beginning about Meghan, which hurt and incensed Harry. William rightly cautioned Harry to slow the relationship down. That’s why they all fell out. As the rift got deeper between the brothers, Kate, who used to be so close to Harry, tried to pacify things. But her loyalty will always be to William."
There was also a reported incident at Harry and Markle’s wedding rehearsal in which the two women had a "row" over whether the bridesmaids should wear tights or not. Middleton, in an alleged attempt to follow royal protocol, felt they should. Markle, meanwhile, was against the idea.
Since rumors of Middleton's irritation bubbled to the surface, a Kensington Palace spokesperson has shut them down.
"This story contains a swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication," a palace spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Tatler then defended the article to ET.
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"Tatler's Editor-in-Chief Richard Dennen stands behind the reporting of Anna Pasternak and her sources," the statement said. "Kensington Palace knew we were running the [story] months ago and we asked them to work together on it. The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false."
Fox News' Nate Day contributed to this report