THE DUCHESS of Cambridge had little energy to bond with her sister-in-law the Duchess of Sussex, a new book has claimed.

Two months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were engaged, Kate Middleton and Prince William announced they were expecting their third child, Prince Louis.

As a result, the wedding preparations took place while Kate was pregnant.

According to royal expert Andrew Morton, this meant the two women had little time to become friends.

Ahead of the release of his unauthorised biography Meghan: A Hollywood Princess next week, he said: “Kate and Meghan were neither sisters nor, unlike Fergie and Diana, friends before they joined the Royal Family.

Speaking to Mirror Online, he said a “difficult pregnancy” forced Kate to focus on her own welfare.

The Argus: Kate Middleton and Meghan MarkleKate Middleton and Meghan Markle

“She did not have much energy to bond with her new neighbour,” he said. “When they sat together in the royal box to watch the Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon in July 2018, the two women were still getting to know one another.

“During the match, in which Meghan’s friend Serena Williams lost to Angelique Kerber, they chatted and clapped and cheered. Unlike Wimbledon 2016, when the cameras focused on Pippa Middleton and Anna Wintour and ignored the unknown American actor, this time they were fixated on the duo of Duchesses.”

After their joint appearance at Wimbledon, reports surfaced that Kate was “left sobbing” amid a disagreement with Meghan at a bridesmaids’ dress fitting before the wedding.

However, during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, Meghan claimed “the reverse happened” and she was left crying a few days before tying the knot with Prince Harry.

Meghan went on to say there “wasn’t a confrontation” and an apology was made after the incident.

The royal expert also claimed that after the Wimbledon appearance, there was “little opportunity” for Meghan and Kate to develop a friendship “away from public events”.

“It was a practical matter as much as anything,” he said. “Kate spent weekends and holidays at Anmer Hall, the Cambridges’ country home in Norfolk, while Meghan and Harry were approximately three hours’ drive away, living in a large, remote, rented property on the Great Tew estate in Oxfordshire.

“Harry’s dream of two united happy families seemed a long way off.”

Prince Harry and Meghan left the UK and stepped down as senior royals early last year.

Meghan and Kate have not seen each other since she quit the royal family, while Kate has only seen Prince Harry once - at the funeral of Prince Philip.

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess is available in bookshops from October 14.