MEGHAN Markle’s “truth” was called into question yet again yesterday after it emerged she did collaborate with the authors of Finding Freedom.
Having previously denied any involvement, the Duchess of Sussex, 40, apologised to a court, claiming she “forgot” about emails sent by her and Prince Harry regarding their unofficial biography.
The correspondence was released by the Court of Appeal and showed how the couple had heavily briefed their press spokesman Jason Knauf before he met writers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand two years ago.
When Finding Freedom was published, a spokesman for the couple told the Press Association: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute.”
This is by no means the first time Meghan has “forgotten” some key information, including the fact she and Harry didn’t have a wedding ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury three days before their real one.
She also insisted she didn’t know who Harry or the Royal Family were when they met, despite being pictured outside Buckingham Palace as a kid.
Here we take a closer look at all the times Meghan’s claims have been disputed.
Archie ‘racism’ row
The single most damaging claim from Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March was that a member of the Royal Family had “conversations” and “concerns” about the colour of their son Archie‘s skin when she was pregnant.
Meghan has refused to name the member of the Firm she alleges made the remarks.
But her account differs from Harry’s.
He says the conversation happened at the beginning of their relationship.
Passport ‘taken away’
Meghan claimed during the Oprah chat that she’d had her passport, keys and driver’s licence taken from her.
She also said she was unable to “just leave”.
However, after meeting Harry, she must have still had her passport to hand – as the couple jetted off on 13 holidays together including breaks in Ibiza, Nice and Amsterdam.
She also travelled without Harry to New York and Toronto.
Kate Middleton made her cry
Another claim Meghan made in the Oprah interview was that Kate Middleton made her cry at a bridesmaid fitting before her wedding.
But the journalist behind the original story – which alleged that in fact Meghan made Kate cry – has stuck by her sources.
There have subsequently been claims that the Duchess of Cambridge went to apologise and Meg threw her peace offering flowers in the bin.
Ask for help ignored
Meghan says she was ignored when she asked for support from the royals, claiming she felt suicidal.
She told Oprah she spoke to human resources rather than the Royal Family.
But over the years, several members of the Firm have sought help, including Prince Harry.
The Duke even fronted the initiative Heads Together with charity Mind to end the stigma of mental health.
It is also understood Meghan got help from Diana’s former confidante and grief counsellor Julia Samuelson and had her own therapist.
Clueless about royals
When Meghan and Harry got engaged in November 2017, she claimed she didn’t know who he was when they met on their first date.
She said: “It’s so interesting because we talk about it and now and even then, I, you know, because I’m from the States, you don’t grow up with the same understanding of the Royal Family and so while I now understand very clearly, there’s a global interest there.
“I didn’t know much about him, and so the only thing that I had asked her when she said that she wanted to set us up, was, I had one question. I said, ‘Well is he nice?’”
Meghan also insisted she didn’t do “any research into the monarchy” before they got married.
But according to the authors of Finding Freedom, Meghan conducted a thorough Google search on Harry ahead of their date.
Meghan had also known Princess Eugenie for several years before meeting the Duke, and her old school friend Ninaki Priddy said Meg was “fascinated” by both the Royal Family and Princess Diana.
Another of Meghan’s childhood friends claims she was always obsessed with royalty and had aspirations of being “Princess Diana 2.0”.
Ninaki said the pair traveled to London as teens and even shared a photo of them beaming in front of Buckingham Palace.
Secret wedding
In the Oprah chat, Meghan claimed she and Harry were secretly married by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the garden at Nottingham Cottage three days before their official wedding in May 2018.
But their wedding certificate proved this was not true.
The Archbishop of Canterbury also later confirmed it didn’t happen.
He said: “I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false.”
Archie ‘not allowed’ to be Prince
Meghan claimed the Royal Family refused Archie’s birthright to be a prince and put it down to the “concerns and conversations” a senior royal had about his skin tone.
However, according to royal protocol, Archie can only receive a title when Prince Charles takes the throne.
King George V issued a writ in 1917 that only royal offspring who are in direct line of succession can be made prince and receive HRH titles.
She was ‘silenced’
One of the most iconic moments from the Oprah interview was when the chatshow host asked Meghan: “Were you silent or silenced?”
Meghan said she was “silenced” by the royal family, which was part of the reason she and Harry eventually left for Canada and then Los Angeles.
But before they left the UK, Meghan guest-edited British Vogue and made 73 public appearances – many of which she spoke at.
She also chatted to the BBC with Harry for their engagement.
And famously she gave a tearful interview to Tom Bradby for ITN when in South Africa.
TV was never planned
Meghan agreed when Harry said working with TV companies, such as streaming giant Netflix, was not part of the plan when they first planned a move to the US.
However, it has since been revealed that the couple started speaking to Quibi video streaming in early 2019.
Meghan was also in talks with Netflix in 2018 about an animated TV series.
And earlier this year the couple announced their first Netflix production, which will focus on the Invictus Games.
Wanted privacy
Meghan and Harry have continuously claimed they want a private life and moved to the States to escape the public eye.
But during their time in LA, Harry has been on the Late Late Show with James Corden, during which he went on an open-top bus tour through Beverley Hills.
Piers Morgan pointed out another example of where the Duke and Duchess shunned their own privacy.
He explained: “We know that within several days of the Oprah interview that Charles – Prince Charles and Prince William, who are our future two kings of Great Britain – both called Prince Harry to discuss the interview.
“And the reason we know that… the first thing they did was tell Gayle King, Oprah’s best friend who hosts the CBS morning show, who then broadcasted to the American people that not only had Charles and William called, which in itself was an invasion of their privacy, but that the calls had been unconstructed. They hadn’t gone anywhere.
“I don’t know how they can trust them again, if that was my family. Could you trust a family member if every time you call them, they immediately ring the anchor of a big American breakfast show?”
Hadn’t seen sister for 20 years
Earlier this year Meghan dismissed her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle by saying she had not seen her for “at least 18, 19 years”.
But a photograph shows Meghan smiling and with her arm around with Samantha at her graduation in 2008 – 13 years ago.
