Queen Mary Replaced Meghan Markle: Kate Middleton Turned to Danish Queen to Cure 'Loneliness' After Ex-Actress Ditched the Crown

Kate, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, was reportedly "lonely" after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, left the royal family in early 2020. The ex-actress' ditching of the Crown for sunny California seemed to have left a void in the monarchy that affected the future queen deeply, especially after Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.

"Being in the royal family is a lonely place, and Kate’s got very few people now, especially after the Queen’s death, who she can go to and confide in," royal expert Duncan Larcombe shared when discussing how the void of another senior royal lady is the cause of Kate's loneliness as opposed to a direct friendship between the two.

"The fact that things didn’t work out with Meghan was a real blow because Prince Harry’s bride would have been another person stuck in the same situation," he added before recalling, "Think back to when Diana and Fergie were always giggling and would help each other let off steam... Kate hasn’t got that."

It has been widely reported and speculated that the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex "did not get along," and much of this had to do with Kate's perception of Meghan's "attitude." But despite the rumored animosity between the millennial royals, Kate only had two senior royal women to possibly confide in at that time — one was the busy monarch, Elizabeth II, and the other was Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall — both in their 90s and 70s, respectively, and Kate not having much of anything in common with Camilla.

Therefore, Her Royal Highness need not look anywhere else for a similar confidant than across the English Channel at Denmark's then-Crown Princess Mary. Both were queens-in-waiting for years after they first met in the early 2010s, and it is believed they both bonded over this factoid and their love of fashion.

"I’m sure that the two ladies will be in close contact; there’s a definite channel of communication between the Queen and the queen-in-waiting," Larcombe further observed.

Royal expert Jennie Bond dished about how "the two women certainly have a great deal in common; they met their future husbands within a year of one another — Mary in a pub in Sydney and Kate at St Andrew’s University." Kate met Britain's future monarch, Prince William, in the autumn of 2001, and the two began dating the following year before eventually marrying in 2011. Mary met Crown Prince Frederik during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the two dated before marrying in the spring of 2004.

Both royal consorts also reportedly bonded over their love of children, with the Princess of Wales giving birth to three children and Queen Mary becoming the mother of four royal kids.

Mary became Queen Consort of Denmark on Sunday, January 14, when Queen Margrethe II shocked royal fans across the world when she abdicated her throne in favor of her son and heir. Kate will not become Britain's Queen Consort until the death of King Charles III and the accession of Prince William to the throne, as monarchs in the U.K. do not resign from their role.

Daily Express reported on the expert opinions.