Meghan wore earrings gifted by Prince Salman after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered

The Duchess of Sussex wore earrings during a royal tour which were a gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia who is accused of ordering the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Chopard earrings worn by the Duchess at a formal dinner in Fiji in October 2018 during a royal tour of New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga were a wedding gift from the crown prince according to The Times.

Kensington Palace was reportedly instructed to brief the media that the chandelier earrings were “borrowed” and this was reported by outlets covering the engagement.

An aide has claimed the Duke and Duchess said the earrings were borrowed from a jeweller.

Lawyers for the Duchess told The Times that while she may have stated the earrings were borrowed she did not say that they were borrowed from a jeweller. The lawyer denied the Duchess misled anyone about their provenance.

The dinner took place three weeks after Mr Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Duchess’s lawyers have insisted she was unaware at the time of the dinner of speculation that the crown prince was involved in the murder of the journalist.

The Duchess wore the earrings again at the Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace on November 14 2018.

There is no suggestion the crown prince gifted the jewellery to the Duchess personally or that he has ever met her.

Last week the US publicly accused Prince Salman of ordering the murder of Mr Khashoggi.

A declassified intelligence report states that the Crown Prince directed the assassination of the dissident Washington Post writer, as he was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Mr Khashoggi’s fiancee said this week that it would be a “stain on humanity” if Prince Salman was not punished.

Gifts from a foreign head of state to members of the royal family are officially considered property of the Crown. Lawyers for the Duchess said that if she suggested the earrings were borrowed, she meant they were borrowed from the Crown.