The official release of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's biography Finding Freedom is still a week away, but royal fans are already enjoying a veritable feast of Sussex insider knowledge, courtesy of authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. As Hello! reports (opens in new tab), the upcoming biography reveals the first time Meghan met Kate Middleton and the sweet gift she bought for her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

According to Scobie and Durand, Meghan and Kate first met on January 10, 2018, about four months before Meghan and Harry's royal wedding and the day after Kate's 36th birthday. Meghan bought the Duchess a gift," Scobie and Durand wrote in Finding Freedom.

"The soft leather Smythson notebook helped to break the ice, as did Meghan's caresses of the then 20-month-old Charlotte.

Things got off to a good start, but Meghan and Kate's (opens in new tab) relationship never progressed beyond "distant politeness," according to previously published biographical excerpts. (Open in new tab) Kate was reportedly not friendly to Meghan during the March Commonwealth service after Meghan and Harry announced they were stepping down as senior royals.

"The decision was made without consulting the girls, and they were not informed until well after the 2,000 service orders had been printed. The Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge say: ...... : "Meghan tried to make eye contact with Kate, but the Duchess hardly acknowledged her.

According to a friend, Meghan was "emotionally hurt and exhausted" by the incident." She had no desire to step foot in anything royal again."