Harry and Meghan Hit Back at Claims They Are Stoking Royal Race Feud

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have hit back at claims that they have “reignited a rift” with the royals by “publicly attacking” the queen.

Their lawyers, Schillings, have written to at least one major British newspaper saying that the claims are “false and inaccurate,” a source at one paper told The Daily Beast.

The claims, similar to those made yesterday in The Daily Beast, dominated the front pages of major British newspapers Thursday. They were based on a new chapter of the book Finding Freedom, excerpts of which were published by People magazine in the U.S. this week.

In a sign that the relationship between Omid Scobie and the Sussex establishment might be fraying, a British newspaper source told The Daily Beast that journalists have been told they need to tread carefully when writing about the duke and duchess. “It seems to be an increasing trigger point for the Sussexes,” the source said. “The claims that have been published were sourced from a new chapter in the unauthorized biography, Finding Freedom. The attorneys for Harry and Meghan claim the authors do not speak for them and that the writers have ‘written about their take on matters.’”

The Sussexes have long denied that they co-operated with the authors of the book, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. However, Scobie is known to have been a confidant of the couple and was, for example, invited to their farewell party when they left the U.K.

Question marks have been raised about how the authors would have had access to a stunning level of detail in the book without Harry and Meghan, at the very least, authorizing their friends to talk.

The book relates multiple private conversations and scenes that would have only been known to the couple. The extract in People magazine treads a similar path and sees Scobie and Durand write: “The queen’s ‘recollections may vary’ comment did not go unnoticed by the couple, who, a close source said, were ‘not surprised’ that full ownership was not taken. ‘Months later and little accountability has been taken,’ a pal of Meghan added. ‘How can you move forward with that?’”

The comment is a reference to the queen’s official statement in response to the Oprah Winfrey interview.

The monarch said then: “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

The Daily Beast’s source said: “They’ve created this issue themselves. As they talk to Scobie, they’ve made him their unofficial spokesman so people buy into him.”

The source speculated that Meghan might be ready to “drop” Scobie, saying the episode had “clearly hit a nerve.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.