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Meghan Markle.Samir Hussein/WireImage
RELATED VIDEO:Meghan MarkleNo Longer Staying ‘Silent’ as Allegations Against Her Continue From Royal Staff
In the story published inThe Timeson Tuesday, a source says that Harry pleaded with Knauf not to pursue the HR complaint. According toThe Times, lawyers for Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, deny that any meeting took place or that the Duke of Sussex would have interfered with any staff matter.
Knauf reportedly sent an email to Simon Case,Prince William’s private secretary at the time and now the cabinet secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Case then forwarded it to Carruthers.
In his email, Knauf said Carruthers “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious.” He added: “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.” (PEOPLE has not independently corroboratedThe Timesreport.)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty
The report comes five days before Meghan and Harry’s interview withOprah Winfreyis due to air on CBS. The interview is expected to cover Meghan’s journey from stepping into life as a royal to marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work and facing intense public pressure. Harry will then join his wife to talk about their move to the United States and their expanding family.
In a preview of the interview, Winfrey says, “I just want to make it clear to everybody there is no subject that’s off-limits,” adding, “Were you silent or were you silenced?” and “‘Almost unsurvivable’ sounds like there was a breaking point.”
The Timesstory also includes a claim that Meghan wore earrings during her 2018 visit to Fiji that had been a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who U.S. intelligence agencies have said approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. PEOPLE has learned that the earrings were gifted on March 7, 2018, from the Saudi Arabian royal family. Neither the Duke nor the Duchess of Sussex was present when they were given at Buckingham Palace, and as is protocol for any wedding gift of this nature, they remain property of The Crown.
As for a claim inThe Timesstory that Meghan cut short an engagement in Fiji because of her reservations about theU.N. Women’s organization, the group is featured as a partner on the Sussexes’Archewell Foundation initiatives for International Women’s Day, andMeghan gave a keynote addressto the group on gender equality in 2015.
Buckingham Palace recentlyconfirmed in a statementthat the couple — wholeft full-time royal workin March 2020 and recently announced that they areexpecting their second child— will officiallynot be returning to their royal roles.
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The palace statement added that Harry’s grandmotherQueen Elizabeth, 94, decreed that in stepping away from royal work, “it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.”
In response, the couple stated, “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
source: people.com
