Kate & Pippa Middleton Fuel Rumors That The Sisters Are Growing Apart

Kate Middleton's relationship with her younger sister, Pippa Middleton, is back under the microscope after she was a no-show in family photos celebrating the Princess of Wales' latest personal milestone. Two years after announcing her cancer diagnosis, Kate Middleton conquered the National Three Peaks Challenge alongside her brother, James Middleton, to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. On July 5, 2026, she shared photos with her husband, Prince William, and their kids after finishing the grueling 23-mile trek. Also pictured were proud parents Carole and Michael Middleton, while Pippa was notably absent. 

The news comes not long after the once-close sisters were spotted attending Wimbledon 2026 separately, with Kate by herself and Pippa going with their mother. Rumors about a rift between the sisters have been making the rounds for years — that they haven't been seen together in public since the Princess of Wales' annual Christmas carol service in 2024 has only fueled them. Royal watchers have offered plenty of theories about what may have caused their supposed beef. "There was someone here a while back who had a theory that they had fallen out because Carole paid more attention to her royal grandkids than her other ones, and also because Kate was basically the golden child. That seems plausible to me," one Redditor wrote. 

"I thought for years that things were not right between them," added another user, who agreed Kate and Pippa Middleton might not be as close as royal fans think. They surmised, "Kate is clearly not the type of woman who enjoys her thunder being stolen (which Pippa did during her wedding with all the butt attention she got). Pippa also married rich and doesn't have to deal with the stuff K does in her quest to become queen." But apparently, they aren't feuding.

Amid the growing speculation, many royal fans have pointed to the sisters' changing lives as a possible explanation for why Kate and Pippa Middleton may have grown apart recently. In 2025, sources dished to Radar Online that the two have struggled to stay close as life consistently pulled them in different directions. Following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth II, Kate has reportedly played a much larger role within the royal family, making it harder for her and Pippa to spend quality time together. "Kate is painfully aware that things have been changing for a while. The pressures of her public role have only increased since Queen Elizabeth passed away, pushing her husband and kids up the line of succession," the insider explained. "The unfortunate collateral of that has been losing the laid-back Middleton family way of things she holds so dear... especially her once close relationship with her little sister." 

But according to separate sources, there's no bad blood between them. Rumors of a sisterly feud intensified in 2026 when Pippa missed Kate's Christmas carol service for the first time since 2021, instead heading to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with her husband, James Matthews. "It wasn't a snub — it's just that her life has become more globally focused, and she sometimes can't be in London for these events," a source close to Pippa clarified to Radar Online at the time. But she'd reportedly given the Princess of Wales the heads-up in advance, and was sorry to miss it. "It's become a real fixture in the Middleton family's calendar, so she was apologetic she didn't make it this year," the insider added. Still, that being said, "[T]hings are all good between the sisters."