Meghan Markle 'frustrated' with palace's lack of response to 'untrue' tabloid stories

Meghan is frustrated by the palace's 'no comment' policy on tabloid stories. Photo / Getty Images

Meghan Markle is "frustrated" by the way "untrue" tabloid stories were handled by the palace, according to a source.

Court documents revealed during her lawsuit against a British newspaper showed that she felt she couldn't defend herself against the media, according to People.

"The go-to position [at the palace] was no comment or to ignore stories, and people actively prevented her from responding to stuff that we knew to be untrue," a source claimed.

"That is what she is taking issue with."

Documents filed by Meghan's legal team show that false reporting caused "tremendous emotional distress and damage to her mental health", and that she felt "unprotected by the institution and prohibited from defending herself" while she was pregnant with Archie.

A source close to the royal household says the royal family's habit of staying silent on news stories means they don't want to make the situation worse.

"The palace teams are faced with the difficulty that when things go wrong — particularly on private life matters — quite often any action taken with the media makes it worse.

Harry and Meghan are suing Associated Newspapers and the Mail on Sunday. Photo / Getty Images

"It's not that the royal household doesn't want to help — more that they don't want to make it worse by giving a gossipy story more oxygen."

In February last year, several of Meghan's friends told People "global bullying" was being aimed at the Duchess.

The remarks in the documents are not aimed at the royal family personally, the source notes.

"Some people are making [these documents] about individuals. It is about the [institution] as a whole and its practices."

Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers and the Mail on Sunday for publishing parts of a confidential letter she sent to her father in August 2018.

After a pre-trial hearing in April, the case will focus on whether the publishers infringed on Meghan's privacy in light of UK laws around data protection and copyright.

It's expected to go to a full trial later this year or in early 2021.