Shade behind the scenes? Prince William probably signed off on longtime royal aide Jason Knauf getting concerned in Meghan Markle‘s lawsuit in opposition to the British press, royal skilled Christopher Andersen predicts.
The authorized drama was rehashed in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan, the second half of which premiered on Thursday, December 15. After watching the ultimate three episodes, Andersen solely shared his ideas on the “attention-grabbing” docuseries with Us Weekly.
“The Sussexes get the ultimate phrase when … they concern a proper assertion saying, ‘Oh no, we by no means approved him to concern this data,’” the writer of The King: The Lifetime of King Charles III instructed Us on Thursday. “So it’s one other swipe at William.”
In line with Andersen, mentioning the lawsuit made it “relatively apparent” that the strain between Prince Harry and his older brother, 40, is “a chasm that isn’t going to be breached at any time quickly.”
Meghan, 41, and the previous army pilot, 38, outlined their ups and downs with the royal household — each earlier than and after their 2020 exit — within the candid six-episode collection. Episode 6 detailed the Fits alum’s lawsuit in opposition to Related Newspapers Restricted, which owns the Mail on Sunday, for publishing the five-page letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in 2019.
“Once we had been nearly to go the court docket of enchantment, a senior member of [William’s] group [Knauf] got here ahead to provide his witness assertion, which wasn’t required, and sadly there’s simply no means he might have carried out that with out the authority of his bosses,” Meghan’s lawyer Jenny Afia claimed in a confessional.
The “Archetypes” podcast host and her husband had been proven getting pissed off in regards to the authorized growth. “Let me take care of it,” Harry instructed his spouse, who replied: “It’s your brother. I’m not gonna say something about your brother, but it surely’s so apparent.”
After the collection finale aired, Andersen hinted that the Prince of Wales probably was pulling the strings when Knauf received concerned. “I imply, my guess is it will’ve needed to have been authorised by him,” the royal skilled instructed Us, claiming that William might have needed to “undercut” Harry for leaving his senior duties. “I can’t see how that type of assertion might have been made with out William.”
Because the drama performed out on display, the Duke of Sussex argued that it was suspicious that Knauf was known as “a former aide of Meghan and Harry,” relatively than a present worker of William.
“It’s much more apparent that they’ll try to cowl it up,” he mentioned, criticizing the best way the palace works with the U.Ok. press. “That’s why I’m now residing in a distinct nation. As a result of all of the comms groups principally, like, attempt to outdo one another, however that is the contract. The symbiotic relationship between the 2 establishments working one of the best that they’ll.”
Meghan gained her case in opposition to Related Newspapers in December 2021 and acquired £1 (the equal of $1.36) in damages. Whereas William has not publicly addressed the lawsuit — or every other accusations made in Harry & Meghan — Knauf denied the couple’s claims.
“In response to allegations that Mr. Knauf submitted a voluntary witness assertion in reference to the Each day Mail litigation with the consent of Prince William’s workplace, a consultant for Mr. Knauf despatched the next assertion. “These claims are fully false,” learn an announcement proven within the doc. “Mr. Knauf was requested to supply proof by each the Duchess of Sussex and Affiliate Newspapers. He was suggested by counsel that proof in his possession might be related and he then offered this on to the court docket, staying impartial within the course of.”
The duchess’ authorized group responded with an announcement of their very own: “The authorized group for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, disputes this declare. Mr. Knauf was not requested to supply a witness assertion by the duchess or her group. Nor do her attorneys consider Mr. Knauf remained ‘impartial’ by submitting a witness assertion relied on by Related Newspapers while working for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”
All six episodes of Harry & Meghan are actually streaming on Netflix.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
