Meghan Markle says she was 'silenced' by the royal family and directed to never comment on false reports

• Meghan Markle told Oprah that after meeting Prince Harry, she was told to never respond to reports.
• She said the royals lied to protect other members of the family but failed to protect her.

Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey in her tell-all interview that the royals silenced her and failed to protect her and Prince Harry, while lying to protect other members of the family.

"That's the sad irony of the last four years. I've advocated for so long for women to use their voice, and then, I was silent," she said on "Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special," which aired Sunday.

"Were you silent, or were you silenced?" Winfrey asked.

"The latter," Markle said.

When Winfrey asked how she had been advised to handle gossip or tabloid reports, Markle added: "Everyone in my world was given a very clear directive from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating to always say 'no comment.'"

"So that's my friends, my mom and dad. And we did. I did anything they told me to do. Of course I did. Because it was also throughout the lens of 'and we'll protect you,'" she said.

Even when her friends contacted her about negative reports, Markle said, she'd remind them that she was being protected, she said.

"It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband," she said.

Markle did not say who she felt was lying or whom they were lying about, but she said it was important to recognize the distinction between the royal family and the "people running the institution."

Later in the interview, Winfrey asked Prince Harry and Markle if they had any regrets.

"My regret is believing them when they said I would be protected," Markle repeated. "I believed that."

The TV event, which aired on CBS on Sunday, was Harry and Markle's first sit-down interview since they announced they were stepping back from royal life in January 2020. In the interview, they addressed multiple topics, including reports that Markle made Kate Middleton cry - Markle said it was actually the other way around - and how the royal family had "concerns and conversations" about Archie's skin color before he was born.

The couple also revealed they're having a baby girl, who is due in the summer.

Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.