Buckingham Palace ‘perpetuating falsehoods’

Meghan Markle says Buckingham Palace is "perpetuating falsehoods" about her and her husband Prince Harry, according to part of an interview she has done with Oprah Winfrey.

The explosive claim is the latest salvo in an increasingly heated public relations battle between the British royal family and the US-based couple.

The clip, released Wednesday, came hours after Buckingham Palace said it was investigating claims Markle had bullied household staff in the months after her fairytale wedding to the prince.

"I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there's an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us," Markle told Winfrey.

"The Firm" is a sometimes-derisive name for the British royal family.

Harry and Meghan announced last year they were stepping back from royal duties, in what became an increasingly acrimonious split from the family.

Their permanent removal from duties was confirmed earlier this year, with the royal household and the couple jockeying to control the narrative of the separation -- and public sympathies.

The interview with Winfrey is due to air in the US on Sunday, and in Britain on Monday.

Harry, who is Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, married Markle in a glittering wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

Their marriage was seen as breathing new life into the centuries-old British monarchy. But relations soon soured and they moved to the US, relinquishing their honorary titles and patronages.