Meghan Markle has been accused of wearing "blood money" earrings gifted by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on two separate official occasions.
Markle wore the earrings -- initially given to Queen Elizabeth -- at a state dinner in Fiji during a royal tour that included Tonga, Australia and New Zealand in October 2018, just three weeks after Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has accused the crown prince of ordering Khashoggi’s death.
"Those earrings were bought with blood money and given to her by a murderer," Michael Eisner, a lawyer fighting for justice for Khashoggi, said, according to The Daily Mail. "She has no business wearing them."
"Those earrings were bought with blood money and given to her by a murderer. She has no business wearing them."
The crown prince reportedly gave the chandelier earrings to the queen as an official wedding gift for the couple during a lunch at Buckingham Palace in March 2018. There is no evidence Markle met him at the time or has met him.
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Markle’s lawyers have insisted she wasn’t aware of the Saudi prince’s connection to the murder at the time, but a source told the Telegraph she had been advised by aides not to wear the earrings. Also, every article of clothing and piece of jewelry are generally meticulously picked out for a royal tour.
The story had been in the media at the time.
"Members of Royal Household staff sometimes advise people on their options," a source told The Telegraph. "But what they choose to do with that advice is a very different matter."
And while it's customary for royals to accept gifts, "Nowhere in the gift policy does it say you have to wear them," a source told the Daily Mail.
Markle wore the earrings for a second time a month later at Prince Charles' 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry reportedly looked "shocked" when an aide approached him at the party about the earrings, according to The Telegraph.
The Kensington Palace staff told reporters at the time the earrings had been "borrowed" but did not elaborate, according to The Telegraph.
Eisner is the chief operating officer of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), which was founded by Khashoggi.
"She should inform herself as a member of the Royal Family of current events and politics and what's going on," Eisner said, according to the Daily Mail. He noted she had been photographed two years before alongside a Saudi women's rights activist. "It's baffling that she would not know the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi's murder and understand that MBS had blood on his hands."
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Markle has been defended by some over the timing of the criticism - three years later - and argued her criticism is "racist" and "sexist" as many politicians have not forcefully spoken out against the crown prince.
The reports have also come right before her highly publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey, scheduled to air Sunday night.
Others have noted Markle's earrings and other scandals pale in comparison to the sexual misconduct accusations launched against Prince Andrew.