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Meghan Markle targeted by spy within Kensington Palace

The Royal honeymoon for Meghan Markle is over, with the pregnant Duchess of Sussex desperate to know if there is a viper in the palace out to get her. A series of embarrassing leaks from within Kensington Palace has left Meghan asking if there is an enemy within.

The Royal Wedding

Is there a spy in Kensington Palace?

That’s the question Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wants answered.

Despite the rapturous reception Prince Harry and Meghan received on their tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, the moment she got home negative stories started emerging.

Just six months after their wedding, the honeymoon is well and truly over.

First, reports emerged in the UK’s Sun newspaper that she had a tiara tantrum pre-wedding, when her choice of headpiece from The Queen’s collection was denied because it may have contained emeralds from Russia.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been under intense public scrutiny since their wedding in May. Picture: Neil Hall/Reuters
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been under intense public scrutiny since their wedding in May. Picture: Neil Hall/Reuters

It is reported Meghan insisted she wanted her first choice, so much so that Harry went into battle for his bride-to-be, only to be rebuked by his grandmother.

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According to The Sun, a royal insider said: “There was a very heated exchange that prompted The Queen to speak to Harry. She said, ‘Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she’s given by me’.

It has been revealed Meghan and the Queen were at odds over a choice of her wedding tiara. Picture: Jonathan Brady/Getty
It has been revealed Meghan and the Queen were at odds over a choice of her wedding tiara. Picture: Jonathan Brady/Getty

“The message from The Queen was very much Meghan needed to think about how she speaks to staff members and be careful to follow family protocols,” the insider said, adding she could be “difficult”.

The new book Charles at Seventy, by Robert Jobson, included revelations that Harry is said to have told staff, “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets”.

The Sun’s Dan Wootton also reported Meghan clashed with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge over their differing treatment of staff — Meghan was more used to a Hollywood working relationship, while Catherine understood the level of respect in the Royal Household.

One thing is certain, leaks are beginning to come from Kensington Palace and it looks like there is an enemy within.

Three staff members have resigned from Harry and Meghan’s household — something that is being branded an “exodus”.

Harry’s private secretary Ed Lane Fox had resigned in April and Australian Samantha Cohen, brought in from The Queen’s household, is also leaving, as well as another assistant named Melissa.

Aussie Samantha Cohen is leaving the service of the Royal Family.
Aussie Samantha Cohen is leaving the service of the Royal Family.

At the Remembrance Day commemorations last weekend, Meghan once again hit the headlines in the UK for apparently being “snubbed” by the Royal Family, when she appeared on a separate balcony to The Queen, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine.

Meghan stood next to Elke Büedenbender, the wife of German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

It was, more likely, down to practicality and protocol — the Royal Family always appears in order of seniority and as the wife of the sixth in line to the throne, Meghan is further down the order.

The balcony was not big enough to hold everyone and Elke, attending in a historic first as a German at the 100-year commemoration of the end of World War I, could not be left to stand on her own.

The Duchess of Sussex was not with the royal family during a Remembrance Day event but was instead placed on a separate balcony with Elke Büedenbender. Picture: Matrix
The Duchess of Sussex was not with the royal family during a Remembrance Day event but was instead placed on a separate balcony with Elke Büedenbender. Picture: Matrix

However, none of that mattered to headline-writers who have decided Meghan’s grace period is over, popular, pregnant, or not.

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine says he is not surprised at the new attitude — he’s seen it all before.

“It seems to be the usual British media thing with a newcomer to the Royal Family: they are put on a pedestal for a while, then something allegedly happens and the sniping begins. In their time Diana, Fergie and Kate had this too,” he says.

“As far as Meghan is concerned, you could say the honeymoon is over.”

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Catherine worried about a “spy” in Kensington Palace a few years ago and Diana, Princess of Wales used to refer to Kensington Palace as “a prison” and told Martin Bashir in 1995: “They see me as a threat of some kind, and I’m here to do good: I’m not a destructive person.

“I think every strong woman in history has had to walk down a similar path, and I think it’s the strength that causes the confusion and the fear.”

Diana said it was after her first overseas tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983 that she truly understood what her role was to be.

“By the end … I was a different person. I realised the sense of duty, the level of intensity of interest, and the demanding role I now found myself in,” she said.

Thirty-five years later, Meghan understands what she meant.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/meghan-markle-targeted-by-spy-within-kensington-palace/news-story/71940a5a272cf4f3416b2836dc1eaed5