Meghan's Friend Claims She Was Used As A 'Scapegoat' For The Palace

The debut of Volume 2 of Netflix's docuseries "Harry & Meghan" is one day away, on Dec. 15, 2022, and the streaming giant has a new trailer to entice viewers to watch the final three episodes.

After part one of the series aired, The New York Times declared that "the greatest villains are not members of the British royal family, as many expected, but London's newspaper publishers," referencing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's ongoing struggles with the media. Fans surveyed by The List noted that some of the bombshells revealed so far dealt with Prince Harry being hounded by paparazzi as a boy and, later, the unceasing negative coverage of him and Meghan Markle as a couple.

Based on the trailer, this next installment is going deeper into friction between the Sussexes and the royal family, including Harry's claim that people lied to protect Prince William. In fact, the teaser places media struggles as a common thread that unites both halves of the series. As the Mirror observed, this clip is notable in that it doesn't feature the Duke of Sussex in any soundbites or photos. 

Instead, it features Meghan, a friend, and her lawyer — and allegations of damaging palace behavior.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex — as well as her friend and her lawyer — appeared in a new Netflix clip alleging that the royal family used press coverage of her as a distraction. "Meg became this scapegoat for the palace," says Meghan's friend Lucy Fraser. "They would feed stories on her whether they were true or not to avoid other less favorable stories being printed."

Jenny Afia, the Meghan's lawyer, supported this allegation. "I've certainly seen evidence that there was negative briefing from the Palace against Harry and Meghan," she says. As an example, Afia cited media coverage of Meghan's strained relationship with her father, Thomas Markle. The duchess agreed, explaining that the media fervor for royal coverage was so strong that publishers jumped on any stories they could get.

This isn't the first time Prince Harry and Meghan have been labeled as scapegoats. Months after the couple stepped back from their royal duties in 2020, royal author Robert Lacey told Newsweek, "Meghan and Harry are now being made the scapegoat for what went wrong." The "Battle of Brothers" author said, "I think in retrospect there could and should have been more done to accommodate the reality of a self-made American show business celebrity entering the royal family."