While the palace is in turmoil, there’s been a victory for Meghan Markle.

Once upon a time, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were touted as the fresh faces of the new guard; the next-generation royals. On paper they looked destined to be fast friends, close confidants and shoulders to lean on as they navigated being married to descendants of the Windsor monarchy.

But as we now know, the story of Kate and Meghan turned out to be very different.

The two women, who have had a fractured relationship fraught with rumours of scandal, jealousy and embattled brothers, have seemingly kept their distance from each other over the past couple of years. With a literal ocean between them, Kate has edged closer to the reality of becoming queen after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, while Meghan has swapped royal duties for a life away from the palace, settling with Harry and their children in Los Angeles.

Terse interactions between Harry and William, plus the Sussexes' explosive tell-all media circuit has further entrenched the two couples in a place from which many have wondered if reconciliation will ever be possible.

And as a result, public perception seemed to have been shifting to land in favour of Prince William and Princess Kate.

Until now.

A big win in a defamation case against Markle's half-sister.

One thing that remained a thorn in Meghan's side as she swapped a Hollywood career for royal life was the dogged attempts by some of her family members to capitalise on her status. But for now she can breathe a sigh of relief — at least from a litigious perspective — with a Florida judge officially throwing out a defamation lawsuit that was brought against Meghan by her half-sister Samantha Markle. 

The 59-year-old was originally seeking $113,000 in damages after she accused Meghan of making "false and malicious statements" during her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and in the Sussexes' Netflix documentary special.

Samantha Markle. Image: Channel 7.

After a two-year court battle this dismissal may now allow Meghan to move on from what's almost certainly been a difficult period of time.

Kate's blunder called into question.

Meanwhile, Meghan's sister-in-law seems to be finding no joy as her 'photoshop' controversy appears to be backsliding into murkier and murkier waters each day. 

At this point we've all based our entire personalities around understanding every step that has unfolded in the Kate drama but ICYMI, let's get you up to speed: After announcing a planned abdominal surgery in January, the public started to become suspicious about Kate's whereabouts after she had not been seen in weeks.

Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C

📸 The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024

To quell the whispers, the Prince and Princess of Wales (aka Kate and Wills) released a picture of Kate and her three children on (UK) Mother's Day. However, that backfired massively with major media agencies claiming the image had been manipulated by the source. Since then, Kate has released a statement saying the editing faux pas was the work of some shoddy amateur photoshopping on her end.

Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024

After calls from the public to release the original unedited image, Kensington Palace held firm, refusing to bow to those requests. They insisted that only a single image had been edited, rather than what some were claiming, that multiple pictures had been spliced together.

Furthermore, paparazzi photographers are now coming forward to throw in their two cents on verifying their images which have also come under scrutiny. On Monday, Prince William and Kate were allegedly photographed leaving Windsor Castle, although the public have since claimed these images have also been doctored.

"We don't change our photos in Photoshop other than adjusting the light levels if necessary," photographer Jim Bennett said in an interview with The New York Post.

Buuuuut, not everyone is buying that story either. Least of all royal biographer, Omid Scoobie, who has come out swinging.

"It's fair to say that most photos released by the offices of public figures have been retouched in some way, so as an isolated incident, this is just an unfortunate error," he wrote on X this week. "But with the Palace's long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry), it's becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share."

It’s fair to say that most photos released by the offices of public figures have been retouched in some way, so *if* this was an isolated incident then it would just be an unfortunate error. But with the Palace’s long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on…

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) March 11, 2024

His sentiments are definitely being reflected in public discourse with many now questioning what is the truth and what is a 'cover up'.

Back in January, royal officials said Kate was "unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter" so all eyes will be on her and William over the coming weeks in the lead up to the holidays and in the days after. And as Meghan and Harry rejoice in their legal win, we can't help but wonder how they must be feeling about the media furore enveloping their distant counterparts right now.

What we see and hear through the media is one thing, but what is actually happening behind closed doors is what everyone is waiting with bated breath to uncover.

Feature Image: Getty.