Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claims the Duke and Duchess’s frustration with Buckingham Palace officials ‘came to a head’ when Harry was asked to co-sign a statement denying a story that cast Prince William in a bad light.

A piece from The Times claimed the future king had ‘constantly bullied’ the Sussexes before they decided to quit royal duties.

When her husband was asked to deny the story, Meghan allegedly messaged an aide saying: ‘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].’

She then asked why her ‘side of the story public image was never considered important to anyone’, Mr Scobie claimed in a piece for Harpers Bazaar.

The author continued: ‘But, as with many requests made by the couple, her suggestion was ignored. The Duchess of Cambridge, she was told, should never be dragged into idle gossip.’

He added: ‘As the cruel commentary, racist attacks, death threats, and negative tabloid stories piled up—and the institution continued to ignore the problem—Meghan later likened the experience to a friend as “death by a thousand cuts”.’

It was reported in November 2018 that Meghan had ‘left Kate in tears’ over ‘her demands’ for Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid’s dress during a ‘stressful’ fitting.

Meghan it was a ‘turning point’ when the Palace refused to set the record straight about the row

The former actress denied this version of events when questioned by Oprah Winfrey, saying: ‘Everyone in the institution knew that didn’t happen.’

She told the chat show host: ‘I am not sharing this to be in any way disparaging about her [Kate]. I would hope that she would want that to be corrected.

‘She made me cry and it really hurt my feelings…. I thought in the context of everything else going on in the days before the wedding, didn’t it make sense to do what everyone else was doing knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’

Meghan said she ‘forgave’ Kate after she apologised and brought her flowers – but it marked a ‘turning point’ for her when officials wouldn’t let her set the record straight on the spat.

She said: ‘That was when everything changed. It was the beginning of the character assassination and they knew it wasn’t true.

‘I can see now what layers were at play there (…) I think so much of what I have seen play out is this idea of polarity, where if you love me, you don’t have to hate her. If you love her, you don’t need to hate me. They really seem to want a narrative of a hero and a villain.’

It comes after Meghan’s friend Janina Gavankar claimed there are ‘many emails and texts to support’ the duchess’ version of events.

During the royal couple’s tell-all interview, Meghan revealed she had suicidal thoughts after joining the Royal Family.

Omid Scobie co-authored Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family

She also alleged an unnamed member of the Royal Family raised ‘concerns and conversations’ about how dark her son Archie’s skin might be before he was born.

Prince Harry has since clarified the comments did not come from the Queen or Prince Philip, who is still in hospital after heart surgery.

Buckingham Palace said the whole family was ‘saddened’ by the ‘serious allegations’ which will ‘be addressed by the family privately’ – although added that ‘recollections may vary’.