The Duchess of Sussex felt “unprotected” by the Palace because the royal press team could not defend her against true stories, according to insiders.
Papers filed at the High Court say that Meghan Markle suffered “tremendous emotional distress and damage to her mental health” as a result of UK media scrutiny during her pregnancy. The former working royal was “unprotected by the institution, and prohibited from defending herself”, her lawyers say in documents relating to her lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday for alleged breach of privacy.
Her friends also felt ‘silenced’ by Kensington Palace and unable to defend her”, adds The Sun.
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The Times reports that the “silence from Kensington Palace left the duchess frustrated” and that her “anger grew over two strands of stories dominating the news agenda about her: her relations with staff, especially the number who had quit, and the criticism of her by her family, especially Samantha Grant, her half-sister”.
But sources told the newspaper that the press team were unable to deny the reports because they were largely true.
“The stories were a drop in the ocean compared to what was going on,” the source said.
“No one thinks this is going to end well,” another source adds. “For anyone.”
Although a judge at a hearing earlier this year threw out Markle’s claim that she was the victim of a malicious press campaign, “aides say that the Duchess is relieved that the true extent of what she believes she has suffered at the hands of the British press is now being revealed”, reports Vanity Fair.
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