After the rather abrupt exit of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry from the royal lifestyle, Kate Middleton has had to shoulder the burden of all of Meghan’s former royal duties leaving her feeling “exhausted” and “trapped,” E! News revealed.

According to a friend close to Middleton, “Kate is furious about the larger workload. Of course she’s smiling and dressing appropriately but she doesn’t want this.”

“She feels exhausted and trapped. She’s working as hard as a top CEO, who has to be wheeled out all the time, without the benefits of boundaries and plenty of holidays.”

Though the coronavirus has put a stop to all of her usual daily activities, the source revealed that these feelings have been coming on for a while now.

In the absence of Markle, Middleton has taken on dozens of engagements in the past month.

“Kate understands that the only credo of the Royal Family is duty, duty, duty. Whereas with the Sussexes it is constant uncertainty,” the source said.

The tension between Middleton and Markle goes back all the way to her wedding day, where Kate wanted the bridesmaids to follow the established protocol, but Markel did not.

“There was an incident at the wedding rehearsal. It was a hot day and apparently, there was a row over whether the bridesmaids should wear tights or not. Kate, following protocol, felt that they should. Meghan didn’t want them to.”