Prince Harry claims Prince William helped an aide leak information about Meghan

Prince Harry has claimed his brother helped orchestrate a leak about his wife during her court case against Associated Newspapers in 2021.

Harry and Meghan in Netflix doco series Part 2.

Prince Harry has levelled an explosive allegation against his brother, Prince William, claiming he allowed his press secretary to provide a witness statement against Meghan during her Associated Newspapers trial.

The Duchess of Sussex sued the Mail on Sunday over the publication of the “personal and private” letter she sent to her father Thomas Markle in 2018. Meghan won the case in 2021.

In episode six of the couple’s Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, British lawyer Jenny Afia recalled the case being appealed by the company in 2021, despite a judge stating they weren’t required to go to trial.

Episode six covers the couple’s ongoing battle with Associated Newspapers.

During her interview on the program, Afia explained that a witness statement and leaked text conversation between Meghan and her former press secretary, Jason Knauf, about the letter in question, threw a spanner in the works of the case.

She went on to air her belief that Prince William would have been aware of Knauf coming forward, with Harry and Meghan later agreeing in tense scenes.

“When we were just about to go to the court of appeal, a senior member of the Duke of Cambridge’s team came forward to give this witness statement, which wasn't required,” Afia said.

“And sadly, there’s no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses.”

A news snippet from royal editor Chris Ship then rolled, with Ship explaining: “The Mail on Sunday was arguing all the way through this that actually this letter wasn’t private because (Meghan) shared a draft with her former press secretary, and she shared some text messages with him... Even during the course of those text messages, Meghan said ‘obviously everything I’ve drafted is with the understanding that it could leak’”.

In their Netflix documentary, the couple pointed out that the statement came from William’s own press secretary, expressing their concern that he knew about it. Picture: Getty Images.

The episode then cut to footage of a stressed Meghan claiming it’s “so obvious” that Prince William had played a part in Knauf coming forward, seeing as he was William’s own press secretary at the time.

“It’s your brother, I’m not going to say anything about your brother but it’s so obvious,” Meghan is seen saying in a huff.

Harry added: “What’s even more obvious is the fact that they’re trying to cover that up … Again, ‘Jason, the former aide of Harry and Meghan,’” he said, referring to the fact that there had been no mention of the aide’s connection to William.

“That’s why I’m now living in a new country … This is the contract, the symbiotic relationships between the two institutions working the best way they can,” he fumed, referencing his previous explanation that the royals and the British press have a close working relationship.

Meghan won the case against Associated Newspapers in December 2021, with footage in tonight’s final episode of the Netflix docu-series depicting the Duchess in tears of joy while receiving the news.

As for the impact of the witness statement, lawyer Jenny Afia said: “The witness statement had no legal significance on the case whatsoever, other than to actually vindicate a lot of Meghan had been saying, about how the letter was never intended to be published. But it was filed because the impact on Meghan’s reputation was potentially damaging.”

Originally published as Prince Harry claims Prince William helped an aide leak information about Meghan