Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have very publicly fallen out with Prince William and Kate Middleton – and one expert believes Kate is now in no mood for making up with the pair

The Prince and Princess of Wales have “closed their minds” to healing their bitter rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a royal expert has claimed.

William and Harry have been at loggerheads for years and Kate was once seen as the peacemaker tipped to help them bury the hatchet. However Harry then turned on his sister-in-law in his controversial memoir Spare. In the book and in several interviews to promote it, he accuses Kate of “stereotyping” his wife Meghan, saying her behaviour created a barrier and shared details of a row over bridesmaids’ dresses at the time of his wedding, which left Meghan in tears.

Now former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond says Kate was hurt and insulted by the attacks by Harry and Meghan – and it’s unlikely their feud will be fixed any time soon. Speaking to OK!, she said: “When you come from a happy, united family – as Catherine does – it’s incredibly hard to understand how people can become estranged.

“I think she believed the rift could be fixed and, after Prince Philip’s funeral, we saw her talking with Harry and obviously encouraging William to do the same. But we now know that it didn’t work. In fact, William and Harry had a blazing row right after the funeral. There comes a point when you just have to accept that happy families are not a game that everyone can play.

“Catherine has been hurt and insulted by things that Harry and Meghan have said, but she and William are a very strong team, and I suspect that, together, they’ve come to the conclusion that the rift with Harry cannot be fixed in the foreseeable future. They’ve closed their minds to that possibility and decided to get on with their lives.”

Meanwhile, another royal expert has claimed that Harry’s “snide remarks” about Kate ruined their bond after it broke a major royal rule. Author Katie Nicholl says Harry’s attacks have led to a complete breakdown of Kate and Harry’s relationship as the princess is “very disappointed”. She told The Sun: “When you think of the personal revelations, and I think you can call them snide remarks made about Kate in Spare, Harry broke the one rule and that is staying silent on family matters.