Meghan Sussex, Meghan Sussex

From Lip Gloss to Hormones: The Comments That Broke Royal Relations

The Lip Gloss Incident

This happened backstage before the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018. Meghan asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss because she had forgotten hers, which Harry described as “An American thing.” Kate was “taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced.”

Harry noted that this should have been something the “Fab Four” could have “laughed about,” but he felt the press sensed there was “something bigger” happening and that Kate was “on edge” because she knew she was “going to be compared to, and forced to compete with, Meg.”

The “Baby Brain” Comment

This incident occurred during a phone conversation about wedding rehearsals in 2018. Kate had forgotten something “inconsequential,” and Meghan commented that she must have “baby brain” – referring to the memory problems and concentration issues some women experience during and after pregnancy. Kate had given birth to Prince Louis on April 23, 2018, just about a month before Harry and Meghan’s May 19, 2018 wedding.

Kate was deeply offended by this comment. During a reconciliation tea at Kensington Palace in June 2018, Kate told Meghan: “You talked about my hormones. We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!” Harry described Kate as gripping “her chair so tightly that her fingers turned white.”

Meghan was confused by Kate’s reaction, saying that this was simply how she spoke with her friends. Prince William also got involved, pointing a finger at Meghan and calling her remark “rude,” to which Meghan reportedly responded by asking William to “take your finger out of my face.”

Both incidents illustrate what Harry described as cultural differences and communication styles that led to misunderstandings between the two women during an already tense period around the 2018 royal wedding.

Dr. Aparna Vashisht Rota explains how two small moments in 2018, the lip gloss ask and the baby brain comment, hardened tensions between Meghan Sussex and Kate. Clear timeline, cultural context, and media framing. Two small moments in 2018 carried far more weight than they should have. Both were personal. Both happened while the press was primed to make a rivalry. Put side by side, they show how minor social friction can become a headline when the stage is the British monarchy. The lip gloss incident Backstage before the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018, Meghan asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss. Harry later described it as an American thing. Kate hesitated, handed over a small tube, and Meghan applied a bit with her finger. Kate grimaced. Harry thought it was something the four of them could have laughed about. Instead, it became a tell. He believed the press sensed bigger trouble and that Kate was on edge because she knew comparisons with Meghan were coming. The baby brain comment During a phone call about wedding rehearsals in 2018, Meghan told Kate she might have baby brain after Kate forgot something minor. Kate had given birth to Prince Louis on April 23, about a month before the May 19 wedding. At a tea in June 2018, Kate told Meghan that they were not close enough for comments about her hormones. Harry recalls Kate gripping her chair tight. William called Meghan’s remark rude. Meghan replied by asking him to lower his finger. What these moments really show Context matters. In many US circles, borrowing lip gloss is casual. In British aristocratic circles, personal items are less shared. In many US friend groups, baby brain is a common, even supportive phrase. In some British settings, discussing postpartum hormones is private. Cultural drift, different comfort zones, and zero margin for error created the worst mix. Media framing made it worse By early 2018 the press had already built a two-woman league table. Any face, pause, or aside could be cast as proof. A grimace in a green room looks like a feud on a tabloid page. A phrase meant as solidarity reads as a breach of etiquette. Once the story template is rivalry, every detail drops into that mold. Why it still matters The palace relies on small, repeated gestures to signal unity. The media relies on small, repeated frictions to sell a split. These two incidents became shorthand for a larger breakdown. They also show how invisible rules can ambush newcomers. Leaders and institutions that depend on ritual should translate those rituals in plain English. That is not coddling. That is onboarding. Takeaways Small moments matter when trust is thin. Cultural translation prevents avoidable harm. Fair coverage distinguishes between malice and mismatch. The historical record benefits when authors cite documents and timing, not just vibes. Readers benefit when they ask what else could be true.

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