There has long been tension between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Photo / Supplied
There has long been tension between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Photo / Supplied
The Amazon Prime Video show Citadel, starring Meghan Markle’s friend Priyanka Chopra, has come under fire over a line uttered by Chopra’s character about “the Duchess of Cambridge” that viewers say is “vile”.
According to the Daily Mail, in a scene with Chopra, who plays espionage agent Nadia Sinh, she gives instructions to another character to say: “The chief of armed forces? You might as well have asked me how to get between the legs of the Duchess of Cambridge!”
Viewers have taken to social media to express there disgust at the comment with one Twitter user calling the line “vile”.
“That remark in Citadel is disgusting,” commented one watcher. “To specifically target Kate Middleton with a sexually crude and lewd bit of dialogue is just low and crass.”
While Kate’s title changed to the Princess of Wales after Queen Elizabeth died in September last year, it’s likely she was still the duchess when the scene was shot.
When it comes to Chopra’s relationship with Kate’s sister-in-law, Markle, the pair have reportedly been friends for years with Chopra attending the former Suits actress’ wedding to Prince Harry.
Priyanka Chopra, entre, arrives at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. Photo / Getty Images
And while it was the wedding that first revealed signs of a strained relationship between Markle and Kate, the duchesses’ appear to have never really mended things.
It’s alleged Chopra is likely on Team Markle - especially after the Citadel star was seen sitting behind Kate and her husband, Prince William, at Wimbledon and appeared to avoid eye-contact, totally ignoring the royal duo.
The observed snub followed the debacle over Markle’s flower girls which initial reports claimed had seen Prince Harry’s bride-to-be leave Kate in tears.
However, in Markle’s shock interview with Oprah Winfrey, she revealed of the alleged incident: “Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true.”
Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey what really happened with Kate ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry. Photo / CBS
She went on to allege the situation had in fact taken place in reverse: Kate had made Markle cry over issues with the flower girls’ ill-fitting dresses.
Chopra’s Citadel remark is not the first time Kate has been on the receiving end of a cruel on-screen joke.
According to the Daily Mail, a critic who saw an early screening of the film last week noted there is a scene that takes an obvious stab at Catherine, and a mention of her predecessor, Diana.
Speaking to Page Six, the reviewer pointed to the scene where Ariel and Prince Eric meet on the beach. Ariel’s given up her voice to get to the surface and Eric is trying to guess her name.
“His first guess is Diana. His second guess is Catherine, but after [Ariel gives a disgusted] reaction, he [concludes] ‘OK, definitely not Catherine.’”
While Markle revealed she’d made a comparison of her own struggle as she became a royal to The Little Mermaid during her interview with Oprah, according to the reviewer, “Disney would be disingenuous to imply those name choices were coincidental.”
The Daily Mail reports a rep for Citadel’s streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, could not be reached for comment.
