It was three words that echoed around the world: in March 2021, shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Buckingham Palace released a statement. Now, according to a new book, it was Princess Kate who lobbied to include that memorable line, according to multiple media reports.

According to the paperback edition of Valentine Law's book Courtiers, and according to the Daily Mail, Princess Kate was more "steel" than Prince William in devising the Palace's response to Harry and Meghan's alleged racism in the interview. The couple were "emboldened" by the incident. The couple agreed that they wanted a "strengthened" statement, and told the late Her Majesty that they did.

A draft of the statement was ready by 2 p.m. the day after the interview aired in the United States on Sunday, but the Palace remained silent. One reason for this was that the late queen was adamant that she would not be the first to see the program," a source told Lowe for the book. On Tuesday, serious negotiations began over an official statement on the matter, led by William and Kate.

"They sat on the couch together as they discussed with officials how to address the Sussex family's incendiary allegations," Lowe wrote in The Times. The draft statement did not initially include the line "recollections may differ" and was a "much milder version": "William and Kate were clear which side they were on." William and Kate were clear about which side they were on. William and Kate were clear about which side they were on.

Kate was "right behind" William, but was apparently more adamant than William on this issue. When one courtier first suggested the "memory may differ" line, at least two palace officials objected, not wanting to offend Harry and Meghan any further. But "it was Kate who pushed through the argument that it should remain," Law writes.

"It was Kate who clearly insisted that 'history will judge this statement and everything they said will be considered true unless it contains this phrase or a similar phrase,'" one source said. According to this source, this is an example of Kate being tougher than she seems. 'She plays the long game. She is always looking at, 'This is my life, this is my historic path, and one day I will be queen.'"

The enhanced draft was sent to Buckingham Palace for approval, and the late queen responded "yes" a few hours later. It was unveiled on Tuesday night and went down in royal history.