Meghan Markle’s close friend has launched a blistering attack on the “ridiculous double standards” she claims run through the royal family.
Bryony Gordon, who first met the Duchess of Sussex in 2018, accused the Firm of treating Meghan far more harshly than other senior royals, including Prince Andrew.
“Can you blame the couple for wanting to escape the peculiar prison of royal life, especially given the ridiculous double standards applied to the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew?” Gordon wrote in the Daily Mail.
The 45-year-old podcaster said she first encountered Meghan at a Royal Foundation event where she chaired a mental health panel.
“She gave me a big old bear hug, the kind that makes you feel at ease — particularly when you are being presented to assorted royals in front of a bank of baying photographers,” she recalled.
“Meghan’s down-to-earth demeanor worked like a charm,” she added, “removing all the anxiety felt by myself and the other attendees.”
The pair have remained in touch ever since, sharing lunches, working on charitable projects and spending time at Frogmore Cottage, the Sussexes’ former home before they were forced to hand back the keys. Gordon says she has also visited Meghan in Montecito, California.
“Each time we meet, or exchange texts about life, I wonder what it says about the world that she could be so vilified and trolled, while other members of the royal family seem to have been given a free pass to behave as badly as they want,” Gordon wrote.
She singled out Prince Andrew, whose behavior was recently detailed in Andrew Lownie’s new book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. Among the allegations, Lownie claims the disgraced Duke once called a palace staffer a “f–king imbecile” for not using the late Queen Mother’s full title.
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The book also alleges Andrew was confronted by Prince Harry over comments about Meghan — claims Harry has dismissed as “gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks.”
Gordon admitted she was “gripped” by the book’s extracts, but said, “With each sordid allegation I have become more and more furious that so little was done to help Meghan as she struggled with life in the royal family, while so much was done to protect Prince Andrew.”
She also questioned why Meghan’s work habits were painted so negatively compared to others. “Somehow, Andrew got away with it for decades, while Meghan was branded ‘Duchess Difficult’ the moment she so much as asked the Queen if she might be able to borrow a tiara for her wedding,” Gordon wrote.
“Why is it that people will tolerate all manner of misbehavior from the likes of powerful men like Prince Andrew, but not a woman who, according to critics, has a habit of occasionally emailing her staff at 5am?”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
