Former royal staffer claims Meghan was protected 'extensively'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former press secretary has refuted claims made by the Duchess during her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview where she said wasn't protected by the Royal Family.

Meghan claimed palace aides "failed to protect her" during the interview and added they were "not willing to tell the truth" in order to protect herself and Harry.

In a letter to the High Court, lawyers representing the Crown claim Jason Knauf, the former press secretary, led "extensive efforts" to protect Meghan's privacy and reputation.

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Jason said he "repeatedly" spoke to Meghan's father Thomas Markle in an attempt to protect her privacy.

The letter details an example in 2016 where he issued a press statement slamming "racist and sexist coverage" of the Duchess.

The aide, who works for Prince William and Kate Middleton now, says he also made "significant efforts over many months" to protect Meghan's father, even after he was outed for cooperating with paparazzi and staging photos.

"Mr Knauf and his colleagues made significant efforts over many months to protect Mr Markle and to object to intrusions into his privacy, 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," the letter states.

Meghan told Oprah the Royal Family allowed the press to believe she made Kate cry in the lead up to her wedding, saying it was actually the other way around.

"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," Meghan said. "They were not willing to tell the truth to protect myself and my husband."

Jason left his role with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after raising bullying concerns against Meghan for her treatment of three staffers.

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