Meghan Markle claims the palace is “perpetuating falsehoods about us” in the latest clip from Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex.
In the clip, Oprah asks Meghan, “How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?”
“I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us,” Meghan says in the new teaser.
“And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean ― there’s a lot that has been lost already,” the duchess added.
Meghan’s legal team revealed last July that the duchess felt “unprotected” by the palace during her pregnancy with son Archie, according to court documents from the royal’s lawsuit against Associated Newspapers.
Her legal team also said the Suits TV series alum was rendered unable to defend herself from “hundreds of thousands of inaccurate articles” due to Kensington Palace’s media policy.
The new clip promoting Oprah’s prime-time special with the royals comes on the heels of a report in The Times, saying that Meghan “humiliated” and “bullied” former staff and personally “drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member” during her time as a senior working member of the royal family.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes told HuffPost on Tuesday that “the Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character.”
“She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good,” the spokesperson added.
In a response to The Times piece, a Sussex spokesperson called the report “a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation” and connected the timing of the allegations to the upcoming interview with Oprah.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, Buckingham Palace released an unprecedented statement saying that it was “very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
“Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned,” the statement said. “The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”
Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah will air in the US on Sunday night, airing in the UK on Monday at 9pm on ITV.