The Duke of Sussex cruelly suggested in his memoir, Spare, that his brother, Prince William, had married Kate Middleton because she fitted the ‘mould’ of the Royal Family, rather than solely for love.

‘For so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with,’ Prince Harry wrote.

This depiction of The Princess of Wales as a weak character whom the Windsors and their courtiers can shape in every which way they choose has always been far from the truth.

Just how wide of the mark this notion really is was vividly illustrated this week when she made a powerful statement, not with words but by her actions. In this case, through her choice of clothes for a royal engagement.

She appeared at a fashion industry event to present the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design in an olive-green, £1,340 trouser suit by Victoria Beckham.

Kensington Palace sources said her decision to wear the sharply tailored two-piece suit was to demonstrate her support for British designers in general.

The Princess of Wales wears a £1,340 trouser suit by Victoria Beckham to present a design award

Recent reports suggest Victoria and David Beckham (pictured at Buckingham Palace last year) have become estranged from their eldest son, Brooklyn

A friend of the Princess’s suggested that there was, however, more to it than that. And what they told me was fascinating.

‘Kate wanted to show her support for Victoria Beckham,’ the friend claimed. ‘She’s aware of what Victoria and David have been going through.’ A Kensington Palace spokesman declined to comment.

What the Beckhams have been ‘going through’ is a family saga that has temporarily managed to knock the Windsors’ own difficulties off front pages.

While William has become estranged from his brother, the Beckhams have become distant from their eldest son, Brooklyn. In both Harry and Brooklyn’s cases, the problems started after they married older American women.

Brooklyn, 26, married Nicola Peltz, 30, daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz, in 2022, while Harry, 40, had exchanged vows with actress Meghan Markle, 43, four years earlier.

Today, it is reported that the Sussexes are ‘secretly’ supporting the Peltzes. According to The Sun newspaper, Meghan and Harry invited Brooklyn and his wife to their mansion in Montecito, California, for dinner last week.

It was a highly significant invitation as relations between the Beckhams and Brooklyn and his wife are said to be at rock bottom after the couple’s no-show at David’s various recent 50th birthday celebrations.

The rift is said to come down to a struggle for Brooklyn’s affections between his doting wife – who is, according to those in the know, the ‘boss’ in the relationship – and his equally doting mother.

One long-standing friend of the Beckhams told my colleague Alison Boshoff: ‘Victoria is fairly open among her close friends about what a viper Nicola is and how she feels betrayed by Brooklyn, so the mask has fully dropped.

‘This is a takeover situation and it is all about the relationship between Victoria Beckham and Nicola. In some ways, Brooklyn has married his mother in Nicola.’

Brooklyn married Nicola Peltz, daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz, in 2022

According to The Sun newspaper, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex invited Brooklyn and his wife to their Montecito mansion for dinner last week

Kate’s very public gesture to Victoria this week may be seen as a further blow to the Sussexes, who once considered the former England football captain and his wife to be part of their ‘court’ across the Atlantic.

David, 50, an ardent royalist who queued for 12 hours to view Queen Elizabeth’s coffin when her body was lying in state, was once close to Harry. He and Victoria, 51, were among the guests when Harry and Meghan were married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in 2018.

But David and Victoria have now distanced themselves from the Sussexes. As I reported last October, they were unimpressed by Harry and Meghan’s attacks on the Royal Family.

‘Both David and Victoria put great importance on family and would never, ever turn on their relations the way that Harry and Meghan did,’ one of their associates told me at the time.

‘The truth is that Victoria never really liked Meghan much. She was friendly and welcoming to her but is not bothered about staying in touch.’

The Princess of Wales learned much from Queen Elizabeth, who didn’t often speak publicly, and never gave an interview, but knew the symbolic power of the clothes she wore.

What’s clear from Kate’s display of sartorial solidarity with the Beckhams this week is that she also knows you should sometimes judge by appearances.

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