BUCKINGHAM Palace offered to help Meghan Markle find an acting job in the UK but she turned them down, according to reports.
Royal aides were “bending over backwards” to help the Duchess of Sussex settle into royal life before she wed Prince Harry in 2018, a source claims.
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This included offering to find the former Suits star, 39, a role within the British film industry if she was passionate about acting, The Times reports.
The source said: “The entire place, because of everything about her, and because of what Harry’s previous girlfriends had been through, was bending over backwards to make sure that every option was open.”
But after a meeting with a senior aide, Meghan is said to declined the offer as she had no interest in carrying on with her career.
She instead thanked them and said she wished to concentrate on humanitarian and philanthropic work and to support Harry as a member of the royal family.
Meghan has since signed a mega-bucks deal with Netflix worth £118million and an £18million Spotify job as her and Harry seek financial independence in the US.
The Duchess also had a voice-over role in a Disney film that followed an elephant family on a 1,000-mile journey across Africa over eight months.
Elephant, which aired in April last year, was Meghan’s first post-Megxit job.
It came after Harry was filmed revealing Meghan’s interest in being involved in a project to Disney chief Bob Iger at premiere of the Lion King, while the couple were still royals in 2019.
The couple are also now preparing for a “shocking” tell-all interview to air with Oprah Winfrey in America on Sunday night.
ITV has paid a seven-figure sum to air the explosive TV event in the UK on Monday.
BULLYING CLAIMS
According to The Times, there was a tense atmosphere at the Palace during Meghan’s time there – with staff occasionally reduced to tears.
She is said to have driven two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third.
Jason Knauf, then the couple’s communications assistant, reportedly submitted a bullying complaint in October 2018 to protect palace staff who were allegedly coming under pressure from the Duchess.
One royal aide, anticipating a row with Meghan, allegedly told a colleague: “I can’t stop shaking.”
The Duchess also “humiliated” at least one ex-staffer while another said her behaviour felt “more like emotional cruelty and manipulation”, it is claimed.
Another source told the paper: “There were a lot of broken people. Young women were broken by their behaviour.”
The source said: “They were run over by her, and then run over by Harry. They had no idea what to do.”
‘WHOLLY FALSE NARRATIVE’
Meghan and Harry’s lawyers told The Times that the newspaper is “being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative” just days before the Oprah interview is aired in the USA.
The couple have filmed the interview with the chat-show queen which will be screened on Sunday.
But there have been calls for Oprah to shelve the two-hour long chat as Prince Philip, 99, remains in hospital.
A spokesman for the Sussexes has today issued a statement branding the bullying claims “distorted several-year-old accusations“.
He said: “Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.
“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.
“In a detailed legal letter of rebuttal to The Times, we have addressed these defamatory claims in full, including spurious allegations regarding the use of gifts loaned to The Duchess by The Crown.
“The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.
“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.”
They also claimed the newspaper was “being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative.”
