Meghan Markle's 'cheek kissing' with William 'fuelled flirting rumour with royal staff'

Prince William and Prince Harry's once-close relationship has been left in tatters following the Sussexes' exit from royal life. The two brothers are believed to no longer be on speaking terms, with insiders stating that William no longer trusts Harry after he revealed intimate details about his family and openly criticised King Charles, Queen Camilla, William and Kate. Among the allegations made by Harry is the claim that William called Meghan "difficult," "rude" and "abrasive" - comments that allegedly led to their now-infamous 'physical confrontation'.

Certainly, Harry's relationship with Meghan seems to have become a sticking point between the brothers. And according to one royal author, problems deepened when it was wrongly perceived by royal staff that Meghan was 'flirting' with the future King. Both Meghan and Harry have stated that William and Kate found the Duchess of Sussex's love of hugging 'jarring'. And now a new book by journalist Tom Quinn has echoed these claims, suggesting that Meghan's manner made the heir to the British throne 'uncomfortable'.

Writing in his new book, Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants - which has been excerpted in The Times - Quinn writes: "This tactile manner made William uncomfortable because Meghan hugged him virtually every time they bumped into each other; the hugging and cheek-kissing fuelled gossip among the staff that Meghan was flirting with William, which she was obviously not, but the tense atmosphere caused by all the touchy-feeliness (and the resultant gossip) deepened the rift between the brothers.".

In their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Meghan said she did not know the Royal Family's 'formality' carries through behind closed doors and that she is a 'hugger' - which she did not realise was 'jarring for some Brits'. She said: "Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger. I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.

"I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward facing way of being and then you close the door and think, 'OK we can relax now'. But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.'". Harry also recalled the apparently awkward first meeting between his now wife and his brother and sister-in-law in his bombshell memoir Spare. He claimed William 'recoiled' from Meghan's hug and described the moment he introduced his sibling to his then girlfriend as a 'classic collision of cultures'.

"[It] completely freaked him out," Harry wrote. "He recoiled. Willy didn't hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers. "Will had hoped that she would greet him with standard reverence per the protocol," he added, "[but] she didn't know it and I hadn't told her.". Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants by Tom Quinn is out on February 18. Get our daily royal round-up direct to your inbox.