The Royal Family Wouldn’t Let Insiders Correct False Stories About Meghan Markle

• The royal family stopped insiders from speaking out to correct false stories about Meghan Markle, royal biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote.
• Multiple household aides confirmed to Scobie and Durand that the notorious story of Meghan making Kate Middleton cry at a bridesmaids' fitting was completely false—but nobody was allowed to set the record straight.
• Scobie and Durand's biography of Meghan and Prince Harry, Finding Freedom, is being serialized in the Times of London. 

Meghan Markle has faced an onslaught of relentless, racist media bullying ever since her relationship with Prince Harry was revealed, with multiple tabloids clamoring to present the Duchess in a negative light. And the royal family did not step up to correct false stories about Meghan; in fact, according to royal biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, they actively prevented insiders from speaking out about the lies. Which stands in marked contrast to the royal approach to stories about Kate Middleton—in July 2019, a Kensington Palace spokesperson officially denied claims Kate had received "baby Botox," as Scobie and Durand note, while the Palace also condemned a recent Tatler feature about her.

"There are people, whether they work with the family or are members of the family, that know a lot of this stuff isn't true, and aren't allowed to say anything," a "trusted confidant" of Meghan told Scobie and Durand, in an extract published by the Times of London. 

One such false story which the royals did not correct, despite "several aides across the royal households" confirming to Scobie and Durand that it was untrue? The infamous claim that Meghan's "strict demands" at a fitting for her bridesmaids, including Princess Charlotte, left Kate in tears. "That story was ridiculous and so false," an insider told the biographers.

A source who was at the fitting said the occasion was a little stressful—as you'd imagine any attempt to get a room full of small children into formal dresses would be—but a far cry from the story broadcast by the media. "Some of the children weren't co-operating, and there was a lot going on. Everyone tried to help where they could, but it's never easy with kids at fittings. There were no tears from anyone," the source said. "In the end, the fitting was fine. Kate and Meghan were both a little stressed but professionals in the room, and there were other people there."

Another false story? Reports that Meghan "bollocked" a member of Kate's staff—implied to be deputy communications secretary Katrina McKeever—resulting in a "furious" Kate stepping in. According to Finding Freedom, "Even Kensington Palace didn't understand the bizarre story." McKeever left her role at the palace in pursuit of "new opportunities," and was on excellent terms with the Sussexes, so much so that they "sent her a handwritten letter and huge floral arrangement when she left."

"It was open season on Meghan," Scobie and Durand wrote. "She felt that women of colour like her were labelled demanding or aggressive." With countless false, racist stories about Meghan dominating the media, and a royal gag order preventing her or her friends from speaking out against them, it's little wonder the Sussexes stepped away from the royal family.