Kate Middleton reportedly had concerns about why her would-be sister-in-law Meghan Markle seemed "embarrassed" about her family prior to her marriage with Prince Harry.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward claims to The Sun that Kate was "privately worried" about the mystery surrounding Meghan's family. The only person who the "Suits" alum talked about was her mother Doria Ragland, who was also the only one who attended the royal wedding. Meghan's father Thomas Markle pulled out at the last minute as he had undergone heart surgery, which was accompanied by a press scandal where he was accused of staging paparazzi photos of himself ahead of the wedding.

After Meghan spent the 2017 Christmas holidays at William and Kate's country home, Anmer Hall in Norfolk, shortly after her engagement to Prince Harry, the Cambridges praised her for "mucking in and playing with George and Charlotte." Kate started getting concerned a couple of days later, when Harry guest-edited Radio 4's Today programme in which he said his loved ones were "like the family she (Meghan) never had."

Harry's statement also ruffled feathers in Meghan's family, with her half-sister Samantha Markle calling his words deeply hurtful. Meanwhile, the situation became "all a bit worrying" for Kate, who was already pregnant with her third child Prince Louis and suffering from a severe form of morning sickness.

One of the things Kate couldn't fathom was the lack of interaction between Harry and Thomas Markle, who have not seen each other till this day. Seward says: "She (Kate) could not understand why Harry had never met his future father-in-law, nor why Meghan, who Harry assured was The One and 'ticked all his boxes', appeared embarrassed about her family and unwilling to speak about them apart from her mother."

Thomas, who opposed his daughter in a libel suit she filed against a tabloid for publishing extracts of a private letter she sent to him, has said in his interviews that he hopes he would get to meet his son-in-law and his grandson Archie, as well as the baby girl Harry and Meghan are expecting to welcome in the coming months.

Ingrid adds that despite their concerns, Kate and William "wanted to like Meghan" as Harry was "so madly in love" with her, "but the women had little in common beyond some polite chatter and their shared interest in tennis."

The British royals
The British royals Photo: AFP / Paul ELLIS
Kate Middleton Prince Harry Meghan Markle British Royal Family