Meghan Markle challenged over claim she was 'silenced' by Palace amid royal 'swipe'

A royal expert has hit back at Meghan Markle’s eyebrow-raising claims that she was ever 'silenced' by the Palace, claiming that we never stop hearing from her and her newest projects. Esteemed royal author Robert Hardman, who has a long history writing about the Royal Family, believes that the Duchess of Sussex was overplaying her belief that she was kept quiet during her time as a working royal, given her regular TV and social media presence.

Meghan first made the declaration that she was “silenced” by the Firm during her bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, as she recounted her two years as a senior working royal between her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, and stepping back from royal life in 2020.

During the explosive interview, Oprah questioned if Meghan was "silent or silenced", to which Meghan replied that it was the latter. She was also quick to comment on how it was a sad irony, given she had advocated for so long that women had to use their voice.

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Meanwhile, just last week, Meghan also appeared on the Emma Grede podcast, where she telling said she would “ask people to tell the truth” if she was able to rewrite her public narrative from scratch. In her 2021 Oprah interview, Meghan said she could not be expected to stay silent if “the Firm” “is playing a part in perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Harry.

But despite her claims that she was silenced by the Firm, royal author Robert Hardman believes that even if Meghan had been instructed to be silent, both within the Firm and to the media, she never has been.

Speaking candidly on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, Hardman shared that ever since Harry and Meghan quit their roles as working royals and relocated to California in 2020, the couple have hardly kept out of the spotlight.

He went on to point out the extensive range of television and PR opportunities that they have advertised since their departure from the Firm, even those that came at difficult times for the royal family at large.

Hardman said: “The idea that [Meghan] has ever been silenced, I mean, I just sort of think back to, you know, the end of 2022, just after the death of the late Queen, and within weeks we had the first trailers for the six-part Harry and Meghan [ Netflix series], and then as it all came out… followed by Harry's book and all the interviews and other stuff. I don't really feel there's been a time when we haven't been hearing from Meghan.”

He further clarified that: “If she wanted to say something, she could,” and has not truly been held back from speaking her mind on the royal family, and from advertising her own business ventures.

Elsewhere in the show, royal expert Katie Nicholl commented on Meghan’s newfound sense of toughness and confidence as she continues to speak her mind, which was most recently demonstrated on the Emma Grede podcast, as she spoke candidly about her business, her family and “telling the truth”.

Nicholl remarked that Meghan has been leaning into an edgier attitude, and has perhaps come to terms with the fact that she will never please everyone, choosing to embrace her nonchalant approach to popularity.

Nicholl said: “[Meghan], for so long, has been painting that narrative as a victim. And I was thinking… about this sort of new direction that she's taking. She was privately, amongst the family, nicknamed Teflon because of her toughness and I think that's what we're seeing in her now.”

“I think it's almost like she's just putting up a bit of a shield, and she actually has got to the point where she doesn't care. She knows she's divisive, she courts controversy. You might love her podcast, you might hate it. She is Marmite, and I think this new direction is like, she just doesn't care.”

The Royal Beat is available on True Royalty TV.