Meghan Markle claimed in her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that she was not allowed to leave her house in Frogmore Cottage after she gave birth to her son, Archie Harrison. However, a royal aide has debunked this claim in a new report.
According to royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah, a source from the palace said that the Duchess of Sussex's recollection of the events was different, especially when it came to preventing her from going out. Meghan Markle told Winfrey that senior royal aides advised her not to be visible in public as she has been "saturated" due to the constant press stories about her. She also said that a member of the royal family told her that she should lay low since she is everywhere in the media.
She told Winfrey that she had isolated for at least four months because of this, leading to her bouts of depression and thoughts of suicide. Meghan said that she couldn't even go out for coffee with friends and had gotten no help from the palace for her mental health struggles.
Part of this story was touched in the book Finding Freedom, which was released in 2020. Royal author Omid Scobie detailed that Doria Ragland, the duchess' mother, visited her in London after the birth and once asked if they could go out for coffee. When they couldn't do this, Ragland apparently told her daughter that she was "stuck" in her home. However, the insider revealed to Nikkhah that it was the Duchess of Sussex who barred Ragland from going out for coffee in Windsor.
Insiders also told The Sun that Prince Harry and his wife had been on 13 trips despite claiming that her personal stuff, such as her passport, credit cards and driver's license, were taken from her. Of these 13 trips, 10 were as a tourist and were personal holidays. The sources said that Meghan's personal items were held for safekeeping by someone else, as it was royal protocol.
The insider underscored that this highlighted a line in the statement Queen Elizabeth released to answer Meghan's and Harry's allegations. The queen came out with a 61-word statement saying that Harry and Meghan are still much-loved members of the royal family. However, the queen also said that "some recollections may vary" from what the couple said in the interview.
Royal correspondent Camilla Tominey said that this phrase was the killer line in the monarch's statement as it meant that the royal family does not accept Meghan Markle and Harry's version as the gospel truth.
