Did the Palace "Never Protect" Meghan?
A look back at history on how the Palace consistently pushed back on stories about Meghan Markle
Hello Dear Readers.
I know, I know. We have quite a lot to talk about. The Sussexes’s biographer Omid Scobie is currently on a publicity tour promoting Harry and Meghan’s his book. Every review I read about the 300 page hagiography is skewering it as though it were a juicy piece of meat during the Fourth of July. In a review making the rounds on social media, the New York Times described it “a Sussex a press release cooked up by ChatGPT”. That’s being much too kind. If I wrote all my thoughts about Endgame Spare Crumbs this newsletter would take me weeks to write, be 60 pages long and filled mostly with many curses. So I’ve decided to break it up into multiple newsletters for my sanity (and yours), Dear Readers. I haven’t done a free newsletter this month, so this post will be free to all subscribers! Onto the Royal Tea!
Harry and Meghan’s Scobie’s book is full of damning accusations. But how many of them are true? We’re going to focus on a claim he repeats over and over again. It’s the same assertion Harry and Meghan continually recited during their Netflix docuseries: “The Palace never protected Meghan or pushed back on stories.” To hear them tell it, the Palace fed Meghan to the wolves and “protected” William and most of all Catherine when it came to unflattering stories. Dear Readers? Recollections may vary.
Palace Pushback When the Relationship Broke
In November of 2016 when news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship broke, Kensington Palace took the unprecedented step of responding to the harassment Markle was receiving. It was released to the press and posted to their Twitter account.
A week after that Prince William issued his own statement of support of their relationship, which was given to the media, but not posted to Twitter.
Papers at that point had been circulating rumors that William hadn’t been supportive of Harry’s decision to release anything, so this gesture nailed home that the elder brother supported his younger brother. Years removed from this event we now know (thanks to credible Royal tomes) how this all played out:
“Faced with such coverage, and the hordes of journalists intent on trawling through every aspect of Meghan’s life, Harry became determined to protect his girlfriend. However, his desire to rein in the media was motivated by more than just a sense that it was the right thing to do. Meghan told him that if he did not do something about it, she would break off the relationship. A source said: ‘She was saying, “If you don’t put out a statement confirming I’m your girlfriend, I’m going to break up with you.”’
Harry was in a panic. Everything he’d feared would happen was unfolding before his very eyes. Another source said: ‘It did feel like if the palace was not able to stand up and support his girlfriend against some of that disgusting coverage and disgusting commentary, then who in their right mind would ever consider entering into a relationship [with him] in the future? He was very exercised about some of that coverage, and I think was right to be. He definitely felt that if he remained silent, if nothing was done to support her, then she would be, “I’m not sure this is what I signed up for.”
“Another said: ‘He was freaking out, saying, “She’s going to dump me.”’ Harry, who had first met Meghan three months earlier, phoned his communications secretary, Jason Knauf, demanding that he put out a statement confirming that Meghan was Harry’s girlfriend. Meghan wanted public validation that this was a serious relationship, not a passing fancy. She was also convinced that the palace was unwilling to protect her from media intrusion. In a conversation that revealed much about Meghan’s view of the royal household, as well as being a foretaste of what was to come, she told Harry’s staff: ‘I know how the palace works, I know how this is going to play out. You don’t care about the girlfriend.”
Excerpt From Courtiers
In truth, while this statement was initiated and spearheaded by Harry’s fear of being dumped, it showcased how the Palace was willing to do what they wished. Meghan, as a girlfriend, wanted public validation via a statement or else she was going to break up with Harry. Harry, desperate to not let that happen, enlisted the help of his Communications Secretary Jason Knauf to craft the message. And finally, his brother, released his own message of support a week later stating “The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him.”
If you’ve been watching Royal Families, specifically the British Royal Family as long as I have, you’d appreciate how significant this “show of support” actually was. All of this was done for someone who Harry’d only been dating for three months. Someone who William had not even met yet. And coming from William, who rarely even defends himself publicly, that means something. How’s that for “support”? I understand that may not have been sufficient for some people. Harry has intimated he “wanted a greater show of support from his family” in those early days. Perhaps Queen Elizabeth should’ve requested a bank holiday in Meghan’s honor? Taken her on a joint carriage ride through the Mall to introduce her to her subjects? Requested the RAF do a fly by in the shape of MEG? A statement released by Kensington Palace, as well as the future King of England for someone he had never met, was a huge show of support by Royal standards.
Palace Pushback When Harry and Meghan Went on Vacation
Finding Freedom the book written with the express cooperation of Harry and Meghan themselves, detailed that a paparazzi “found” them in Jamaica got very inappropriate photos of them on their balcony.
Harry told the Palace to do everything in their power to make sure that the more racy photos of his girlfriend never saw the light of day. Buckingham Palace lawyers did their job and protected Meghan. The photos of them frolicking in the water were fair game though and those were plastered all over the internet. Interestingly the first set of photos taken were, shall we say, exceptionally good quality compared to the ones taken later on in the week (after news of them broke being on the island). The initial photos were sharper and some of the images were edited and spliced together to create a more attractive looking set. How serendipitous the paparazzi had Creative Suits unhand to edit the photos. Cough. But they forgot the table in the back which looked very wonky and out of place.
More experienced royal watchers will remember that the Princess of Wales found herself in a similar boat. In 2012, when she and William were on vacation in Provence, a sunbathing Catherine took off her top and was rubbing sunscreen on her husband’s back. Little did she know that, roughly half a mile away, a French paparazzo was lurking in the shadows, long-range lens camera in hand, ready to capture it all.
The shots fell into the hands of Closer, reportedly after British tabloids turned them down. The magazine teased them at first, promising to show “the future Queen of England such as you have never seen her . . . and such that you will never see her again!” Too late to stop them from going to press, the couple watched in horror as the pictures were blasted online, with the headline “Seulement dans Closer: Kate et William, Leurs Vacances Très Hot en Provence” (“Only in Closer: Kate and William, Their Very Hot Holidays in Provence”).
The palace immediately sued. Closer, for its part, stood its ground: “The photographs we have selected are by no means degrading. They show a beautiful, in love, modern holidaying young couple, in their normal life,” stated the magazine. “The article reports on the couple’s recent stay in the South of France.” However, five years later, it was official: The pictures weren’t beautiful or normal. They were a gross invasion of privacy. The decision is not only a watershed moment for Catherine and William, but the entire royal family and the press that chronicles it.
Harry and Meghan at this point were still just boyfriend and girlfriend. To safeguard her dignity the Palace went above and beyond to protect her with all the might of their institutions. And this was also a huge show of support.
Palace Pushback to Protect Meghan from Dog Poop Smears
In September of 2018 a random reporter claimed that she saw Meghan Markle outside of Buckingham Palace and posted a photo of “Meghan” to Twitter.
Enter ridiculous headlines from even US sources like TMZ.
TMZ: Meghan Markle DOG S*** HAPPENS Even on Palace Grounds???
A “palace source” flatly denied the story and publications updated the story. This story is mentioned as an example of “support” because Buckingham Palace usually wouldn’t waste their energy denying stories like this. Secret briefings on dog poop? The aides definitely have more important things to do. But there was a request to deny this from on-high and the Palace acquiesced.
I give this example to show that even for the the most unobjectionable things like dog excrement, the Palace was willing to brief and release statements for the Duchess of Sussex’s benefit, even if it was a wee bit ridiculous.
Palace Pushback for Trolls
The Palaces changed their social media polices in 2019 for Meghan, so negative comments could be deleted. They had several staffers dedicated to media monitoring.
Palace Pushback for a Feud
Fall of 2018 began with the Sussexes seeing quite a few of their aides quitting their employ. Stories about Princess Catherine and Duchess Meghan “feuding” behind closed doors began to circulate. Public-facing, the Princess of Wales was positive about Markle and she said, during a couple of engagements, that she was excited for Harry, Meghan and their new baby and couldn’t wait for the cousins to play with each other.
But that wasn’t enough. In December 3rd of that year, a story said that Princess Catherine has confronted Meghan over how she was speaking to her staff. Kensington Palace released a statement definitively denying that a feud between the two women was occurring.
The statement stated the story about the Princess confronting Meghan “never happened” and there was no validity to the feud rumors. Five years removed from this, we now know the denial was bullocks. Prince Harry stated in Spare that he hated the reality of his wife and his sister-in-law not getting on and Catherine was stung by Meghan belittling her postpartum brain. And Scobie in his new book details just what Markle thought of her husband’s sister-in-law: A Stepford wife afraid to take risks. Both women had very little in common, of that there was little doubt. So this “denial” was meant to save face. Specifically, Meghan’s face.
Buckingham Palace in this case massaged the truth for Meghan’s benefit with an on-the-record statement regarding their staffing issues and woes. There was “no truth” to them. To hear the Palace tell it, it was all poppycock, but we know that’s the exact opposite of what happened. Now, the workplace complaint filed in 2018 that came to light in 2021 does lend validity to the rumors, but at the time Buckingham Palace did deny the story on the record. Regarding the rumors themselves? Prince Harry documented his own staff woes in his book and Courtiers by Valentine Low paints a grim picture of the staff turnover and low morale on Team Sussex:
“At around the same time as the wedding, Meghan spoke particularly harshly at a meeting to a young female member of the team in front of her colleagues. After Meghan had pulled to shreds a plan she had drawn up, the woman told Meghan how hard it would be to implement a new one. ‘Don’t worry,’ Meghan told her, ‘if there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.’ Later, Prince William, who had heard of some of the treatment that she had been subjected to, came to find the woman. ‘I hope you’re OK,’ he told her. ‘You’re doing a really good job.’ She promptly burst into tears.
Other members of staff also came under fire, sometimes from both Harry and Meghan. Once, when Meghan felt she had been let down over an issue that was worrying her, she rang repeatedly when the staffer was out for dinner on a Friday night. “‘Every ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, “I can’t believe you’ve done this, you’ve let me down, what were you thinking?” It went on for a couple of hours.’ The calls started again the next morning and continued ‘for days’, the staffer said. ‘You could not physically escape them. There were no lines or boundaries – it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.’”
Excerpt from Courtiers
And yet, the Palace protected Meghan with an on-the-record denial.
Palace Pushback for Boxing Day
In December 2018, papers were writing that Meghan had effectively “banned” Harry for taking part in annual Boxing Day Shoot at Sandringham because she hated hunting. It was a story seeped in misogyny, no doubt to make Harry look like a hen-pecked husband: The mean shrew Meghan was “stopping her husband” from doing what he loved with his family.
A “Palace source” flatly dismissed the claims saying that it was “completely untrue” and then a second source from Kensington Palace said, “Claims in tabloids should be looked at with caution.” This was your garden variety brief to the press to make sure that the record was corrected. Perhaps Meghan wanted something more substantial on the record like a Press release, but to say the Palace in this case did not fight for her or try to combat the rumors is preposterous.
Palace Pushback for Raising Their Baby
On March 2019 when Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair wrote that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were going to raise their child with a “fluid approach to gender”, a Kensington Palace spokesperson denied the story on-the-record saying it was “Totally false”.
The Palace responding to how Royals raise their children is not done. When Lara Spencer on Good Morning America chuckled on air about Prince George taking ballet classes, the Prince and Princess of Wales did not respond or push back. After the Jubilee Parade, everyone and their mother had an opinion on Catherine’s parenting skills even though Prince Louis acted like any normal four-year-old boy asked to sit still for too long.
The Palace rarely denies stories on the record so this was very telling and would not have happened without the Sussexes asking for this correction. Once again, another example of the Palace “protecting them” by issuing details and denials as they requested.
Palace Pushback for Baby Sussex Name
In April of 2019 the Palace also denied giving hints to name of the Sussex’s unborn child or giving hint to it via website updates.
As the previous denial, this is usually not done. Old Palace communications would have let the rumors swirl. At the end of the day, the name would be released in good time. But a Palace spokeswoman denying it on the record could only have come from direction of the Sussexes.
Palace Pushback on the “Snubbing” of Neighbors
In July of 2019 after the Sussexes moved to Frogmore Cottage, the Sun reported that residents in the area were told to not approach, look at or speak to the pair. There was apparently also guidance on not even touching their dog.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on the record that this request was not true, that these rules did not come from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This on-the-record denial went a long way towards not making them seem like out of touch toffs. The Palace “protected” them from this rumor.
Palace Pushback on Diet Pills
When the Mirror uncovered that shady scammers online were using Markle’s name, face and doctored quotes to sell their dangerous diet pills, Buckingham Palace lawyers suited up to defend her.
A Palace source vehemently denied the validity of the ads themselves and said they would be doing everything they could to “crack down” on this misleading advertisement. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Princess of Wales went through something similar.
Sussex History goes like this:
“The Palace didn’t fight for Meghan or deny stories but they denied a story about Catherine getting botox! So unfair! Meghan didn’t stand a chance!”
But just as a company was using Meghan’s photo illegally to sell diet pills to unassuming customers, a doctor used Catherine’s photo on his business social media account to suggest she’d had “baby Botox.” The post featured supposed “before” and “after” images, purporting to show the effects of the cosmetic procedure with a number to call and book for services, intimating that the Princess had used his services.
The Palace didn’t “deny that the Princess of Wales gets botox” because Catherine was vain or embarrassed. Palace lawyers were doing what they did for Meghan: Smacking down someone using an image of a Royal to hawk their wares. The Royal Family never endorses commercial activity and the post staying up would have confused people and misled them into thinking the Princess of Wales had endorsed the plastic surgeon’s office. What the doctor did was technically illegal, even if the Princess had gone to visit him. And as the Palace denied that Meghan’s dog crapped on Palace grounds, what room do detractors have to be snark about Botox?
Palace Pushback on Ellen
After Harry and Meghan left the Royal Family, there were rumors going around about what their next moves were going to be. It was reported that the pair wanted to have their first sit-down chat with Ellen to talk about the decision they made to step down as senior members of the Royal Family. Buckingham Palace sources via the Sussexes briefed the press and denied it.
Little did the Palace know that it was actually Oprah the Sussexes’d be sitting across.
Palace Pushback on Celebrity Endorsement Company
Buckingham Palace also denied that Harry and Meghan were working with an LA Based endorsement company. The company was allegedly trying to make some quick bucks using their name and image for more hits on the internet. Even though the Sussexes at this point were living full-time in America, Buckingham Palace still went of their way to deny stories they wanted killed.
The narrative that the Palace never protected them or denied stories on their behalf does not stand up to scrutiny. The Palace denied and pushed back on stories about them all the time.
They kept intrusive photos out of the press.
They denied on the record that the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex were feuding.
They went after opportunistic companies trying to make a quick buck using the faces of Royal family members.
The disconnect came, and this is just my opinion, from Meghan’s lack of understanding how the Palace worked. The Palace is not a PR firm. “Releasing good stories” to “combat bad ones”, as Markle was known to suggest, did not work in the long term. Scobie stating Meghan was “unprotected” and the palace didn’t combat stories is not true. In reality, the Palace refuted more stories for Meghan than any other family member. I listed just a few examples but there are more.
During the Oprah interview, the same party line was recited ad nauseam: Harry and Meghan said the Palace never protected them nor pushed back sufficiently on the untrue stories about them. In the Harry and Meghan docuseries, this thread was built upon. The Palace “threw them to the wolves” and stories were not “strongly denied”. They “received no support”.
The Princess of Wales was the only person Meghan namedcheck hard during the interview. At the time, I found it extremely telling that out of all the examples of mistreatment available, this was the main story that the Duchess was fixated on “correcting” and “retelling”. It 1) Told me that this is the worst they had. And 2) She believed the evil, cold Palace’s refusal to correct the narrative was what turned the world against Meghan.
The Palace not “pushing back enough” on the “lies” about the them was listed as a valid reason why they had to leave. Meghan felt the story about making the Princess of Wales cry was tantamount to character assassination.
But as usual with these two, recollections may vary.
Spare told a very different story about how the Palace handled the bad press and response system. In the book, Harry described the atmosphere at Kensington Palace:
“It didn't help that everyone was working around the clock. There were so many demands from the press, such a constant stream of errors that needed clearing up, and we didn't have nearly enough people or resources.”
“At best, we were able to address 10 percent of what was out there. Nerves were shattering, people were sniping.
"In such a climate there was no such thing as constructive criticism. All feedback was seen as an affront, an insult.
So in actuality, the Sussexes were supported. Everyone was “working around the clock” because there was “so much work” to be done. They didn’t have “nearly enough people” to clear up the constant stream of errors and they were only able to “address 10 percent of what was out there.” Does this sound like an unsupportive environment where nothing was done to help them? Absolutely not. No doubt, it sounds extremely stressful for those poor aides. Yet it seems like everyone was doing what they could to address the concerns of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But not enough bandwidth and headcount issues are very different situations than people refusing to help you.
So as we’re now almost done with 2023, it’s very interesting that since the Sussexes left, they have leaned into not explaining or responding to stories about them, but actively letting them fester.
On May 19th, the Telegraph reported that a Hotel Manager in Montecito confirmed they had rooms set aside for Harry to occasionally spend the night in the same city where he lives with his wife and children. A day later the Sun reported that Prince Harry had a similar hotel arrangement in Los Angeles.
And when Harry and Meghan’s $20m deal with Spotify came to an end last month, the rumors circulated once more. The same occurred when Page Six divulged plans for a yet-to-be-titled special on Africa by Harry. According to them, this was going to be another solo trip for Harry.
On July 18th, RadarOnline reported on Harry and Meghan’s rocky patch, claiming the two are “taking time apart”. An insider alleged to the outlet: “They’re trying to figure out what hit them. Harry doesn’t fit in Meghan’s tacky Tinseltown world.”
All of the rumors above have been allowed to molder in the public discourse. Even controversial and inconsistent Instagram rumor-monger Deux Moi was fueling the separation/divorce chatter.
So you can see why it’s odd that rumors about their marriage and media contracts imploding have not received as much pushback as you’d expect from official channels. Especially as they don’t have to answer to the Palace anymore. Odder still: Many stories written by US media have also gone unchallenged by the couple, who was notorious for firing off searing statements rebuking the (British) press for what they feel are corrosive and harmful practices.
The Palace non-denial of the “Kate made me cry” story allowed the rumors to fester and was a sticking point for Meghan. If we are to use the same logic and apply it to the rumors about their marriages, the Sussexes seem content letting the world believe she and Harry are having issues that could precipitate a split. Five years removed from the crying story, thanks to Spare, we know that emotions were very high in the months leading up to the wedding. It’s likely the Princess of Wales cried. And it’s likely the Duchess cried.
But with the relative silence around the rumors, could it be that the Sussexes finally understand the value in “Don’t Complain, Never Explain?” Have they learned that sometimes the best strategy is to ignore the press and not let it drive your reactions? Of course not. Reading excerpts from Scobie’s book release, it shows the Sussexes are still stuck in the past. They’re too self-involved to grasp the Palace is not denying anything officially regarding the corrosive statements towards Prince William and the sexist statements lobbed towards Princess Catherine by their cheerleader.
The only long-term solution was for Markle to do what she has done now as the US Press grows more and more hostile: Grow a thicker skin. But it’s too late for that now. And as far her cheerleaders, understand that we’ve been there, done that. Another piece of Sussex History?
“I can’t believe they accused Meghan of funding human rights abuses because she liked avocados!”
This Daily Mail headline spawned cries of racism and bigotry.
And let’s be clear, this headline is demented and unbalanced. Markle making avocado toast for a dear friend does not mean she’s fueling “human rights abuses, drought and murder”. That is a take seeped in idiocy. But is it uniquely demented and unbalanced towards Markle? Unfortunately, no. Four years earlier in 2016, the Princess of Wales wore Lapis Lazuli jewelry to an event and stood accused of “funding Taliban terrorists and the Islamic state in Afghanistan”. I wish I were taking the Mickey out on all of you, Dear Readers:
It is the same script, just re-written again and again. Trash “journalism” at its best. Frustrating, annoying, hateful. And unfortunately, not unique to one Duchess or Princess.
-Lady Sinclair
Wow I wish this post could find its way into The Times (both London and New York) and be discussed on breakfast shows! Bravo!!
Wow, I hadn’t read the 2016 press statement in a long time. It’s so prescient!