Meghan Markle claims Palace aides were ‘willing to lie to protect other royals’ over her

MEGHAN Markle told Oprah Winfrey of her anger that Palace aides “failed to protect her” and claimed they were “willing to lie to protect other royals.”

The Duchess of Sussex sensationally claimed that royal aides were “not willing to tell the truth to protect herself and Prince Harry” in the explosive interview with Oprah that aired overnight.

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CBS

Meghan and Harry during their explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey[/caption]

PA:Press Association

Meghan, Harry, Kate and William during their time as working royals[/caption]

Asked by Oprah: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”, Meghan replied: “The latter.”

It came as the Duchess claimed royal aides had allowed the press to believe that she had made Kate cry in the run-up to the royal wedding, when it was the other way around.

Meghan said: “Only once we were married and everything started to worsen that I came to understand – not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family.

“They were not willing to tell the truth to protect myself and my husband.”

She added that her biggest regret was believing that she would be protected by the royals.

When Oprah asked Meghan if it was true that she’d made Kate cry, the Duchess replied: “No, no, the reverse happened.

“I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone. She was upset about something, she owned it, she brought me flowers and brought a note apologising.

PA:Press Association

Meghan and Harry said they had no choice but to quit the Royal Family[/caption]

“She did what I would do if I hurt someone.”

The Duchess said the confrontation had “really hurt my feelings” but that Kate was “a good person.”

And the 39-year-old revealed she had felt a “turning point” during her time with the Royal Family after reports surfaced in the media that she left Kate Middleton in tears.

Asked by Oprah why no one had corrected the press and told them it was in fact Kate that made Meghan cry, the Duchess replied: “That’s a good question.”

Meghan also broke down in tears during the interview as she revealed she told Prince Harry she “didn’t want to be alive anymore” and had suicidal thoughts.

The Duchess of Sussex said she begged for help from the Firm after struggling with her mental health – saying it was her husband who “saved” her.

But in an explosive interview with Oprah aired on CBS overnight, the 39-year-old said she had been told she would not be able to seek help as it “wouldn’t be good for the institution.”

Breaking down in tears, pregnant Meghan said: “I just didn’t see a solution.

“I didn’t want to be alive anymore.”

And she said when she reached out for help with the Palace’s Human Resources team, she was told because she was not a paid employee, she could not be supported.

It comes as…

• Harry and Meghan married three days before their wedding at Windsor Castle
• Meghan said Archie wasn’t made a prince after talks about his skin colour
• Pregnant Meghan revealed she is expecting a GIRL
• The 39-year-old told Oprah the Queen was ‘always wonderful to me’
• Prince Harry said his brother is ‘trapped’ in the Royal Family
• A body language expert revealed Harry ‘suppressed anger’ when talking about being hurt by his family
• Meghan was apparently left gutted when the Queen would not let her and Harry live in a wing at Windsor Castle
• Archie’s favourite word is ‘hydrate’ the proud parents revealed

One night, while suffering suicidal thoughts, Meghan claimed that she forced herself to go to an event with Harry, 36, – because she felt she couldn’t be left alone, for fear of what she might do.

And she said while the lights were down during the Cirque du Soleil premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2019, she was “weeping” while clutching Harry’s hand until his knuckles were white.

The Duchess of Sussex, who was six months pregnant at the time, said she would cry while the lights were down in the royal box before she would compose herself for the cameras and smile during the intervals.

Meghan revealed: “I was ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry because of how much loss he suffered.

“But I knew that if I didn’t say it I would do it – because I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.

“I didn’t want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought.

“And I remember, I remember how he just cradled me.”

She later said Harry, 36, “saved” her by ultimately quitting the Royal Family.

In the candid chat, Meghan said: “I think he saved all of us.

“He ultimately called it – we’ve got to find a way for us, for Archie and you made a decision that certainly saved my life and saved all of us.

“You need to want to be saved.”

CBS

The 39-year-old said she had struggled with pregnant with Archie[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Harry said he was shocked after a conversation about the skin colour of his son[/caption]

PA:Press Association/PA Images

Meghan and Harry said they were happy raising their son in the US now after quitting the Royal Family[/caption]

And Harry admitted he would not have quit the Firm without Meghan’s help saying: “I wouldn’t have been able to because I myself was trapped as well.”

Harry added: “I didn’t see a way out. I was trapped within the system, just like the rest of my family are.

“My father and my brother – they are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.”

And he said he believed his mother Princess Diana would have been “angry” with how the situation panned out.

He said: “Ultimately, all she would ever want is for us to be happy.”

He said his family was now surviving on money that had been left by his mother, saying she might have “seen it coming”.

And Harry later added he also went to a “dark place” – revealing he would return home to Meghan crying as she breastfed Archie at their home.

Meghan also said she remembered one conversation about the pressures she was under with someone in the institution who told her “yes it’s terrible” – but that nothing had been done.

And she revealed that it was in fact one of Princess Diana’s friends that she reached out to, adding: “who else could understand what it’s actually like on the inside.”

MEG BOMBSHELL

It comes after Meghan revealed there were “concerns and conversations” about “how dark” her son Archie’s skin would be when he was born.

The Duchess of Sussex said there had been conversations with herself and Prince Harry about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be – and “what that would mean or look like”.

A stunned Winfrey asked “who is having that conversation?”

Meghan replied she would not reveal the identity, saying: “I think that would be very damaging to them”.

And the couple said they had been concerned their son would not receive security or protection as he had not been given a prince title.

Meghan explained said: “All the grandeur around this stuff is not really important to me.

“But in those months when I was pregnant, all around the same time: we have in tandem he won’t be given security, a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be “too brown” and that would be a problem, Meghan said: “If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.”

CBS

Meghan Markle may never come back to Britain after her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Pregnant Meghan spoke with Prince Harry[/caption]

Oprah had introduced the interview by confirming that “no subject is off limits” and that Meghan had not been paid for the chat.

As the interview began, Meghan said she grew up not knowing much about the Royal Family, adding: “I will say I went into it naively.”

And while Prince Harry said he had no regrets, Meghan said she had one – that she had trusted that the Firm would protect her.

She explained: “I regret believing that.”

Harry further revealed he had been cut off by the Royal Family financially last year – and that for a time, his dad Prince Charles stopped taking his calls.

He said he had been “really let down”, adding: “Of course I will always love him but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that.”

But the couple said they were now “thriving” – and revealed they were expecting a little girl in the summer.

The bombshell revelations come amid fears Meghan may never return to Britain after the chat.

Insiders fear she and Prince Harry could have burnt their bridges by failing to tell family members what was in the two-hour chat before it was shown in the US at 1am today.

Sources say royals including the Queen were not planning to watch the interview, to be shown here on ITV at 9pm.

AFP

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are seen here with the Queen[/caption]

Handout – Getty

The interview will be broadcast on ITV on Monday night[/caption]