Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The Duchess of Sussex recently faced criticism over her decision to allow some of her closest friends to defend her in an exclusive magazine interview.
In the rare interview with People magazine Meghan’s friends share intimate details of their personal experiences with the royal in an attempt to set the record straight about her relationship with her father and alleged “difficult” behaviour, HarpersBazaar reports.
According to the Daily Mail, royal experts and insiders said the duchess was wrong to sanction the interview. Kensington Palace refused to comment on whether Meghan directly requested the anonymous sources to do the interview.
In an episode of Good Morning America, royal correspondent Omid Scobie suggested the duchess might have given her pals her “subtle” blessing before they spoke to the press.
It's clear the palace press office hadn't been involved as magazine staff informed them of the article’s extraordinary content – it includes a letter written by Meghan to her estranged father – only minutes before publication.
Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter, who'd worked for both Prince Charles and Princess Diana, said the revealing article would spark concern inside the royal household.
“Assuming – and as these sources are anonymous we don’t know for sure – that this was done with [Meghan's] agreement, it's opened a Pandora’s Box in my opinion. The issue with her father is an open wound and I’m not entirely sure it's the best idea to aggravate that.”
Joe Little, managing director of pro-monarchy magazine Majesty, said he believed in the royal family’s mantra of “never complain, “never explain”.
“These chats were clearly done with the very best of intentions but I’m inclined to think they've achieved nothing,” he said.
In the article People magazine quotes five of Meghan’s closest friends.
“Meg has silently sat back and endured the lies and untruths," one says. "We worry about what this is doing to her and the baby.”
The article also offers details about her life with Harry at Kensington Palace, further fuelling the rumour that the duchess is aware of the identities of those speaking out.
Serena Williams dropped a massive hint on Twitter that she's one of the anonymous sources by posting a picture of herself sipping tea with the cryptic caption, “sips tea”, The Sun reports.
The tennis star and former actress have been close for more than a decade and it's reported that the duchess is being advised by Serena’s PR team.
Sources: The Sun, HarpersBazaar , Daily Mail , People , Good Morning America
