Prince Harry's book reveals every petty grievance and perceived slight between ... trends now

It started with a hug — and something of a snub. When Prince Harry first introduced brother William to the glamorous American who had stolen his heart, what followed was a Transatlantic culture clash.

Specifically, the off-duty Hollywood actress decided that the appropriate way to greet our future king was via a Californian hug. That 'completely freaked him out', Harry recalls. 'He recoiled. Willy didn't hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers.'

There followed a brief exchange of pleasantries, plus a meeting with William's spaniel, Lupo.

But where was Kate?

'Out with the kids,' said William.

'Too bad, next time,' came the response. Then it was time to say goodbye.

It was the autumn of 2016, and Harry and Meghan's relationship was still a closely guarded secret. Back then, the two brothers were sufficiently close to be not only living next door to one another but also sharing an office and a social life.

Indeed, that first meeting — according to Harry's account, the encounter didn't appear to get beyond William's black-and-white tiled hall — came as the duo were preparing to jump in a car to head off together on what Royals call a 'straightforward' shooting weekend.

Now, of course, that once-close relationship between the brothers is a smoking ruin. Six years on, the princes inhabit not only separate continents but also different sides in a bitter dispute that has reduced the Monarchy to a sort of cheap soap opera, featuring blazing rows, fierce vendettas, slammed doors and at least one punch-up.

Central to this fallout, as the above passage suggests, are their two very different wives.

According to Harry's memoir, Spare, some of the most explosive disagreements between the couples revolved around misunderstandings over American attitudes and customs. Some were astonishingly petty.

Disputes appear to have broken out over everything from the correct way to seat couples at a wedding (Brits place them apart on the same table, whereas the 'American tradition', according to the book, is for them to be together) to whether it might be appropriate for two women to share lipgloss (Harry describes doing so as 'an American thing').

In one excruciating passage, Meghan is scolded for suggesting that Kate might be suffering from 'baby brain', having recently given birth. Harry's wife seems to think making such remarks is 'a girl thing', whereas our future King primly claims such alleged overfamiliarity is 'not what's done here in Britain'.

It's clear in hindsight that Kate and Meghan's relationship never really got off the ground. 

And as well as those cultural differences, the key reason for this seems to be a straightforward personality clash. Readers of Harry's 416-page misery memoir are left in little doubt that Kate and Meghan's awful chemistry, divergent attitudes and competing styles generated constant friction between the two households.

Take, for example, the first time the two women finally got round to meeting, during a cosy dinner party hosted by Harry and Meghan in late 2016.

On the surface, things looked convivial. William 'seemed to like Meg' and 'Kate seemed to like (Harry's emphasis) her too,' Harry writes. 'We'd had them over for dinner during one of Meg's visits, and Meg cooked, and everything was good.'

Yet behind the scenes, he now shares a couple of red flags.

At one point during the meal, for example, 'Meg ran upstairs' to get some 'homeopathic remedies' for William, who was suffering from a cold.

Although he 'seemed charmed, moved', to be presented with vials of oregano oil and some turmeric, Kate was dismissive to the point of rudeness and 'announced to the table that he'd never take such unconventional remedies'.

It was an odd remark (if true), given that the Royal Family are longstanding fans of complementary medicine (their preferred homeopathic pharmacy, Ainsworths, has a Royal Warrant).

But that wasn't the only discordant note Harry detected that night. There were also, he says, 'marked differences in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice'. Meg went barefoot and wore ripped jeans, while her dinner guest Kate was 'done up to the nines'.

The next encounter between the women featured in Spare came in February 2018, three months after Harry and Meghan had announced their engagement, when the two couples shared a stage at an event called the Royal Foundation Forum.

Although this was widely regarded as a success — 'afterwards, one journalist dubbed us the Fab Four,' writes Harry — we learn that there was actually an 'awkward moment backstage' that day, when Meghan asked Kate if she could borrow her lipgloss.

'Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube,' writes Harry. 'Meg squeezed some on to her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should've been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark.'

There was also, he suggests, bad feeling over a newspaper article suggesting that Meghan's choice of a black dress at the event (Kate wore purple) was intended to indicate support for the #metoo movement, at a time when Hollywood actresses were wearing black on Oscar-season red carpets to show solidarity with victims of sexual assault.

'I think [the article] had Kate on edge, while putting her and everyone else on notice that she was now going to be compared to — and forced to compete with — Meg,' Harry claims.

At this point, it should be stressed that, to quote the late Queen, recollections may vary. Harry's book offers a heavily

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