Is Kate Middleton Pushing Support on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Claims She’s No longer a Hugger?

Kate Middleton is on a hugging spree.

The Princess of Wales, 41, modified into rapidly to embody some familiar faces during royal engagements this week. While congratulating Captain Preet Chandi on her fable-breaking expedition in Antarctica during a college search recommendation from on Wednesday, Kate greeted the explorer with a sizable hug. One other sweet moment got here on Thursday during Princess Kate and Prince William’s search recommendation from to Cornwall, when she reunited with one of her ragged lecturers.

Even supposing Meghan Markle acknowledged in the Netflix prove Harry & Meghan, which premiered in December, that she modified into bowled over by Kate and Prince William’s formality unhurried closed doorways, a buddy of the Princess of Wales these days told PEOPLE that the royal is terribly affectionate.

“Kate’s a sizable hugger,” the buddy acknowledged. “She is warmth and friendly and greets everyone with a sizable hug and kiss. It comes naturally to her to be love that.”

Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales.
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

Recalling the first time that Meghan met Kate, the Duchess of Sussex acknowledged on Netflix prove that she modified into “in ripped jeans and barefoot” when Prince William and Kate got here over for dinner.

“Handle I modified into a hugger, consistently been a hugger,” Meghan, 41, acknowledged. “I did no longer realize that that is principally jarring for a number of Brits.”

“I disclose I could perchance well well start to ranking very fleet that the formality on the commence air, carried via on the within,” she added. “There is a forward-facing contrivance of being after which you pack up the door and you relax now. But that formality carries over on all aspects. And that modified into fine to me.”

Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Samir Hussein/WireImage

Princess Kate and the relaxation of the royal family beget publicly kept nonetheless in the wake of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, no topic the jarring allegations made, from Prince William’s alleged physical assault on his youthful brother to unfavourable press leaks within the family. The Duke of Sussex, 38, portrayed his sister-in-regulation as cold against him and his wife in the book and surrounding interviews.

In a chat with ITV’s Tom Bradby, Prince Harry recalled how Prince William, 40, and Kate reacted to his relationship with Meghan, 41 — an American actress who modified into divorced and biracial.

“Among the things that my brother and sister-in-regulation — a number of of the formula that they had been performing or behaving indubitably felt to me as though, sadly, that stereotyping modified into causing a limited a barrier to them in actuality contain of, , introducing or welcoming her in,” Harry acknowledged.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
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A family buddy tells PEOPLE on this week’s hide story that Kate is “no afflicted violet” no topic staying peaceful about the claims.

“She is a sturdy lady. It is a ways exquisite that William has Kate by his side to rely on, as she is a precise stalwart via this,” the buddy says.

One other buddy tells PEOPLE, “So powerful has been acknowledged that at this stage, I deem they ethical want to transfer on. The overall disaster is terribly unhappy, but or no longer it’s industry as typical, and she’s getting on with the job because that is what she does.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Ben Birchall-WPA Pool/Getty Photography

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Royal correspondent Valentine Low, creator of Courtiers, says there would possibly perchance be a functional reason the royals aren’t commenting on Harry’s book.

“They did no longer want to fan the flames of the rift and the dispute,” says Low. “They know that the relaxation acknowledged in an announcement or a briefing would lengthen it. They wanted it to cool down as soon as imaginable. The longer it goes on, the less hope there would possibly perchance be for reconciliation.”