Royal expert Katie Nicholl shares if she believes Harry and Meghan extended an olive branch amid Kate's absence.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are in the loop about Kate Middleton, but not in the capacity that many may think.
ET's Nischelle Turner spoke with royal expert Katie Nicholl outside of Buckingham Palace in London on Thursday, and she shared just how much information the Duke and Duchess of Sussex know about the Princess of Wales amid all of the conspiracy theories.
"I know there were reports, particularly over in the U.S., that Meghan had reached out to Kate that there had been some sort of a thawing of the relationship," Nicholl tells ET. "I think those reports are slightly wide off the mark."
According to Nicholl, the amount of information Harry and Meghan do know is sparse as they are no longer senior royals -- Harry and William also continue to have a strained relationship.
"Of course they're aware she's been in the [hospital], I'm not even sure they know what's she's been in for because the relationship is very estranged now, you know, the brothers don't talk and Kate and Meghan certainly don't talk, so while well-wishes have been extended -- certainly on the part of the Sussexes -- I'm not sure that they're actually as in the loop as perhaps more senior members of the royal family," Nicholl says.
"I'm sure flowers have been sent and well-wishes," she adds of Harry and Meghan's private gestures. "And Meghan's know for writing those lovely handwritten letters, but I think the idea of them sort of being brought back into the Wales inner sanctum is certainly wide off the mark."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped away from their royal duties in 2020, and have since relocated to Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2. Harry's last trip to the U.K. was in February, following his father King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.
While Harry's visit was evidence of an extended olive branch between father and son and their broken relationship, Nicholl says that there isn't a chance that Kate's surgery and recovery will do the same to repair Harry and William's fractured relationship.
"There's a massive breakdown of trust between the two brothers," she says. "William worries about anything that he says could be then filtered out through Harry or Megan or their spin doctors. I do believe it's the case that they've reached out certainly but there's this idea of, you know, them being welcomed back into the Wales in a sanctum -- no. I think if anything’s gonna be bring the brothers back together it'll probably be the King."
Royal watchers and the internet are looking closely to see if Kate will make her return to public life during the family's annual Easter service. While Kate's return to public life has yet to be determined, Nicholl tells ET that after seeing her over the weekend with William at the Windsor Farm Shop and the new reports that Kate has been working from home with one of her biggest patronages, the princess is showing all the signs that she is fit to return for royal duties.
"These rumors that we're going to see her possibly over Easter Sunday and when the royal family do traditionally go to church over Easter, yeah, I think there is every possibility," Nicholl tells ET. "When you think back to that video, you know the thing that struck me was that she was walking at quite a pace. I think she looked very happy. I mean, she looked very relaxed and she seemed very sort of happy in the company of her husband. They were obviously chatting away. I think she clearly wasn't aware that she was being filmed, you know, and you sort of got a glimpse of her without her makeup, without her power suit, without her big hair, actually just being a wife and doing the family shopping on a Saturday."
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