Meghan Markle reportedly “burst into tears” after Prince William released a statement denying allegations of bullying against him, according to Prince Harry. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recounted this incident from early 2020, shortly after the Sandringham Summit that followed their decision to step down as working royals.
At that time, a story emerged suggesting that part of the reason for their decision was that Prince William had “bullied them out.”
Harry spoke in the fifth episode of his and Meghan’s bombshell docuseries on Netflix about his wife’s reaction, saying: “I mean, the saddest part of it was this wedge created between me and my brother so that he’s now on the institution’s side. And I get, part of that I get. I understand right? That’s his inheritance, so to some extent, it’s already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution.
“That day, a story came out that part of the reason why Meghan and I were leaving was because William had bullied us out.”
He added: “And once I got in the car after the meeting, I was told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brother’s name, squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family.
“I couldn’t believe it. No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that.
“And I rang [Meghan] and I told her and she burst into floods of tears because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
The statement, which can still be seen on the now-defunct sussexroyal website, now has a note above it, stating:
“On January 13, 2020, the following joint statement was issued by a spokesperson for Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex in response to accusations of bullying being the reason for The Duke and Duchess’s departure.
