Meghan Markle's former aide claims she was protected 'extensively' by the palace

Meghan Markle claims she was left defenceless by the palace. Photo / CBS

One of Meghan Markle's former aides has revealed the duchess had "extensive" protection from Buckingham Palace, despite the claims she made in the Oprah interview.

During the chat with the talk show host, Meghan repeatedly alleged palace aides "failed to protect" her, reports The Sun.

And the duchess, 39, also claimed they were "not willing to tell the truth" to protect her as well as Prince Harry.

But now the Sussexes' former press secretary Jason Knauf has rejected her claims, apparent from official court documents. He also claimed he spoke to Meghan's father Thomas Markle "repeatedly" to try to protect the duchess' privacy.

Lawyers representing the Crown claimed in a letter to the High Court that Knauf headed "extensive efforts" to protect Meghan's reputation and her privacy.

Knauf, who now works for Prince William and Kate Middleton, made "significant efforts over many months" to protect Thomas Markle's privacy, it's said.

The court documents claim it was carried out "in addition to the steps that were regularly taken to object to coverage of the duchess herself, where this was perceived to be unfair or untrue".

The details came to light after Meghan won the most recent round of her privacy battle against the Mail on Sunday over a letter sent to her father.

Jason Knauf formerly worked as Harry and Meghan's press secretary and claims he did his best to protect her privacy. Photo / Getty Images

Knauf reportedly submitted a bullying complaint in October 2018 to protect palace aides from pressure from Meghan Markle. These claims are now being investigated.

Meghan said: "Only once we were married and everything started to worsen that I came to understand, not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family.

"They were not willing to tell the truth to protect myself and my husband."

She went on to say that her "biggest regret" was believing she would be protected by the royals. She also claimed she was left defenceless by the Kensington Palace media team while she was pregnant.

She felt "tremendous emotional distress" but her friends were "silenced" by the palace and could not help her, she claimed.