Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made a stunning accusation during her blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month: The Palace had failed to correct false and damaging stories about her while she was a working member of the royal family, even as it defended other members.
“Not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family,” she said. “They weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband. … They knew it wasn’t true. And I thought, Well, if they’re not going to kill things like that, then what are we going to do?”
I reviewed thousands of news articles from June 1, 2018 — the start of Meghan’s first full month as a working member of the royal family — to Jan. 1, 2020, days before Harry and Meghan announced they would step back from royal life. Specifically, I compared coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan (the Sussexes) to coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton (the Cambridges).
Then I looked at the times a royal family spokesperson went on the record to confirm, deny, or decline to comment on whatever the article was about — and found that Meghan has a strong argument.
Members of the royal family rarely issue personal statements, and the family’s media team rarely goes on the record with the press in response to a story or request for comment. (Buckingham Palace did not provide…
