Meghan Markle, Harry Were Asked To 'Cosign Statement' Against William's Bullying Allegations: Report

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were asked to cosign a statement that addressed a report claiming Prince William "constantly bullied" them but didn't receive the same treatment, according to a report.

Markle opened up about the toll the palace's "no comment" policy took on her during her and Prince Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey Sunday. Now, royal author and correspondent Omid Scobie, in a piece for Harper's Bazaar, reported that when the second-in-line to the throne was hit with his own bullying allegations by the press, the institution had no problem refuting it and even asked the Sussexes for help.

Kensington Palace "urgently requested" that Prince Harry and Markle "cosign a statement" against an "offensive" report about his older brother Prince William back in January 2020, per Scobie. The report had claimed that the Duke of Cambridge "constantly bullied" them before they stepped away from their royal duties.

Scobie could be referring to a report U.K.'s The Times published last year that quotes a source as saying that Prince Harry and Markle felt they had been pushed out and were "constantly bullied" by Prince William. The Duke of Cambridge was also allegedly not friendly toward Markle.

"If you are Meghan and Harry and you've had two years of constantly being told your place, constantly bullied as they would see it, constantly being told what you can't do, Meghan has been thinking, 'This is just nuts. Why would anyone put up with this?'" the unnamed insider said.

The Times did not comment on the prince's statement but added that the bullying claims were strongly contested by other sources close to Prince William and Prince Harry. The brothers denied the bullying allegation against William in a joint statement sent to CNN in January last year.

"Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge," the statement said. "For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful."

However, Markle was reportedly treated differently when she aired her own frustrations over inaccurate press coverage. After being asked to cosign the statement defending Prince William, the duchess sent an email to an aide asking if the palace can also clear up the rumors that she made Kate Middleton cry in the run-up to her 2018 wedding, Scobie said, citing an unnamed source.

"Well, if we’re just throwing any statement out there now, then perhaps KP can finally set the record straight about me [not making Kate cry]," Markle's email to the aide read, per Scobie's source.

Markle was repeatedly told that it would not be possible to set the record straight and that the Duchess of Cambridge should never be dragged into idle gossip, according to Scobie.

Scobie added that unlike the Sussexes, the other members of the royal family were afforded more sympathetic support when it comes to dealing with the false reports. For instance, the palace issued a statement denying the reports that Middleton got Botox.

For Scobie, ignoring rumors falls under the royal family's "never complain, never explain" mantra, but they should not expect the victim of racism to remain voiceless.

"The palace has continually proven itself to be unable to empathize with any person who crumbles under the pressures of its outdated and unreasonable expectations," the "Finding Freedom" author wrote.