MEGHAN Markle’s senior aide says she WAS protected “extensively” by the Palace despite her bombshell Oprah Winfrey claims.
The Duchess of Sussex slammed Palace aides in the explosive tell-all chat – claiming they “failed to protect her”.
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She also sensationally said they were “not willing to tell the truth to protect herself and Prince Harry”.
But the couple’s former press secretary Jason Knauf appeared to refute her claims in official court documents.
In a letter to the High Court, lawyers representing the Crown claim he led “extensive efforts” to protect Meghan’s privacy and reputation.
It lists the 2016 example where Mr Knauf issued a press release slamming “racist and sexist coverage” of the royal.
The aide, who now works for Prince William and Kate Middleton, also made “significant efforts over many months” to protect Thomas Markle, it was said.
The documents say this was carried out “in addition to the steps that were regularly taken to object to coverage of the Duchess herself, where this was perceived to be unfair or untrue”.
They were revealed after Meghan won the latest round of her privacy and copyright battle against the Mail on Sunday over a letter she sent her dad.
Mr Knauf was confirmed in legal papers to have told Meghan to reference her estranged dad’s ill-health in the “deeply personal” letter.
Thomas Markle suffered a heart attack before Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018, which he did not attend.
Mr Knauf is the staffer who reportedly submitted a bullying complaint in October 2018 to protect palace aides who were allegedly coming under pressure from the Duchess.
The claims, which Meghan denies, are now being investigated by a third–party law firm drafted in by Buckingham Palace.
Meghan has regularly spoken out about a perceived lack of protection offered to her by the royal family.
In her Oprah interview, she 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.
Meghan also claimed in previous court documents she was left defenceless while pregnant by the Kensington Palace media team.
The duchess said she was felt “tremendous emotional distress” but her pals felt “silenced” by Kensington Palace and unable to defend her.
