Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly angry after the Prince and Princess of Wales appeared on a glamorous red carpet with one of Hollywood's biggest stars. William and Kate were seen chatting and laughing with Tom Cruise at the London premiere of his new movie Digger.
A royal source told Heatworld that this left Harry and Meghan furious, as the couple saw it as an attempt from the Waleses to deliberately one-up them in the public eye.
Source claims couple's Hollywood hopes dashed
"It's no secret that they had very high hopes of being a part of the Hollywood in-crowd when they moved to America, and that just hasn't happened," the source told the publication.
The source continued, saying that instead of Hollywood success, Harry and Meghan returned to England with their "tails between their legs." Noting William and Kate's appearance on the red carpet with Tom Cruise, they added: "They're now having to watch William and Kate parading around on the red carpet like a couple of Hollywood stars - the irony is infuriating."
Claims of deliberate one-upmanship
The source said: "They are both convinced that William and Kate made an extra big show of their friendship with Tom Cruise to try and upset them, and it worked. They would love to have Tom kissing up to them the way he does with William and Kate."
Tom Cruise seemed to have a lovely time with the Prince and Princess of Wales, and was particularly full of praise for Kate. "William did well. Will, way to go. Smart choice. I've got to give it to William, smart choice," he said, gushing over the Princess of Wales.
Warm relationship with the royal couple
Cruise has been seen in public with the royal couple before and is known to have a warm relationship with them. Speaking to Extra TV, the movie star said: "I have so much respect for them, they are amazing people. You know, they're amazing people, and how dedicated they are to their country and also what they give to the world. And they're just beautiful people and fun, very funny.
"She's got an incredible sense of humour, very intelligent and fun. Will, way to go, smart choice. Got to give it to William, way to go."
According to the royal source, this has gone over well with Harry and Meghan. They added: "William has been on this huge push to gather as many big Hollywood stars as he can for his charity, and if you ask Harry and Meghan, that's his way of trying to one-up them because he thinks it somehow proves he's better.
"They're also very paranoid about what William and Kate are saying about them to all of these stars. In some ways, that's even more upsetting because they feel like William and Kate are running a smear campaign against them, and it's working."
