The Royal family accused ‘The Firm' of perpetuating falsehoods
The Royal Family has been accused of having "double standards" over its investigation into bullying claims against the Duchess of Sussex.
This comes just a few days before the broadcast of a highly-anticipated interview between Meghan And Harry and Oprah Winfrey, and after the palace announced that it would probe bullying claims levelled against the Duchess by former staffers.
However, this is strange, because for a royal family who is accustomed to keeping matters private, the extraordinary public battle marks a notable break from tradition.
The Sussexes appear to be going public about their experiences to take control of the narrative," Carolyn Harris, a royal expert, and author based in Canada, said while royals have given many interviews before, she said, the decision to invite such public scrutiny on the tensions that have played out behind palace doors will have been "controversial" with the family.
Meghan accused the palace of "perpetuating falsehoods" about the couple in a 30-second excerpt from the interview that was released Thursday.
"I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there’s an active role that 'The Firm' is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us," she tells Winfrey.
Her use of the phrase “The Firm” immediately raised questions about exactly where Meghan was pointing the finger of accusation. It is understood from sources close to the couple that she was referring to the broader institution of Buckingham Palace, which includes senior courtiers and advisers, but ultimately headed by the Queen — rather than individual royals.
The two Oprah clips released so far suggest that the interview is likely to cause Buckingham Palace deep discomfort. There was no official response from the palace but sources suggested the latest claims would be seen as “pretty upsetting”.
The comments were filmed two weeks ago but the timing of the latest “teaser” release will stoke up tensions between the California-based couple and the palace ahead of the full interview being aired on US primetime. It is being shown in Britain on ITV at 9 pm on Monday.
They come the day after reports appeared in The Times suggesting that an adviser to the couple had made a complaint about bullying of staff by Meghan in October 2018 during her brief period as a full member of the royal family. Lawyers for the Sussexes dismissed the claims as “a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful information”.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan told NBC News in a statement on Tuesday night that the newspaper report is part of a “calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.”
“We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet. It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years."
In response, Buckingham Palace said it had launched an investigation into the bullying allegations. Past and present employees are to be invited to speak in confidence about their experiences of working for Meghan, who is alleged to have driven out two personal assistants and undermined the confidence of a third.
In another video from the two-hour special released last weekend, Harry, 36, opened up about how the choice to step back from the royal family was difficult for him and drew parallels between himself and his mother, Princess Diana."You know for me, I'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side," he said. "Because I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her (Princess Diana) going through this process by herself all those years ago because it has been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we have each other."
The couple, who are expecting a second child, now live with their son Archie near Santa Barbara. The first clip saw Harry in a reference to the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
He also told the chat show host his and Meghan’s life had been “unbelievably tough” but “at least we had each other” as he spoke of their decision to quit royal life and move to California.
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