Meghan Markle feels Prince Philip's health scare is an excuse to 'muzzle' her, won't postpone Oprah interview
Meghan Markle wouldn't ask to postpone Sunday's release of her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey even if she "had the choice," her friends have claimed, adding that the royal family is using Prince Philip's health as an excuse to keep her "muzzled."
Meghan, Harry, and CBS have reportedly faced increasing pressure to push back the hotly anticipated interview special in light of Harry's grandfather Prince Philip's recovery from recent heart surgery.
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However, a friend of the Sussexes has reportedly told the Daily Mail that Meghan will not "postpone" the special no matter what. "Even if Meghan had the choice to postpone the Oprah special she said she wouldn't because it has absolutely nothing to do with Prince Philip and that this is just an excuse by the palace to keep her muzzled," the insider said on condition of anonymity.
"Prince Harry has no say on the matter. What's done is done. Meghan said now the whole world can see what she had to endure for months on end. No support whatsoever and now even across the pond, still no loyalty or support," the source added.
Meghan accused 'The Firm' of "perpetuating falsehoods" about her and Harry in a teaser of the interview released Wednesday. The clip came out the same day Buckingham Palace began investigating claims that Meghan bullied her staff. The Duchess of Sussex was accused of playing the victim while inflicting "emotional cruelty" on her aides.
A number of royal staffers reportedly claimed they belong to the 'Sussex Survivors' Club' after their experience working for the couple. Some claimed they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety after how they were treated by Harry and Meghan.
However, Meghan's friend told the Daily Mail a different story. "[Meghan] said these outrageous allegations confirm why she and Harry had to part ways and make it their mission to be a voice for the underdog," they said. "Meghan said not once did anyone from the Palace come to her defense when she was being shredded by the tabloids, but now all of a sudden it's okay for those same people to talk to the media. She said it's a double standard and not in a million years would Kate ever be treated this way."
"Meghan said she was singled out from day one," the source added. "Meghan said she is beyond relieved and grateful that she can enjoy her pregnancy surrounded by love and support, unlike what she experienced behind the walls of the Palace."
On Friday another preview clip was released of the interview, where Meghan claimed she wasn't allowed to talk to Oprah "personally" and that there "had to be people sitting there."
Oprah noted that she had reached out to Meghan at the start of 2018 to ask for an interview shortly before her wedding to Prince Harry. However, the former actress turned the TV host down, saying it wasn't "the right time." "I remember that conversation very well," Meghan told Oprah, three years into her marriage. "I wasn't even allowed to have that conversation with you personally, right. There had to be people sitting there."
Oprah then asked Meghan why she had turned her down three years ago but agreed to do an interview now. "We're on the other side of a lot of life experience that's happened," the former royal responded. "And also that we have the ability to make our own choices in a way that I couldn't have said yes to you then. That wasn't my choice to make."
"So as an adult who lived a really independent life to then go into this construct that's different than I think what people imagine it to be, it's really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say yes," Meghan added, before noting she was glad she could finally "speak for herself."