The Duchess of Sussex was last night criticised by a lawyer fighting for justice for murdered Jamal Khashoggi over her decision to wear diamond earrings given to her by the man accused of ordering the brutal killing.
Michael Eisner, who heads a human rights group founded by Mr Khashoggi three months before his death, said the stunning chandelier earrings were ‘bought with blood money’ by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He said he was ‘baffled’ that the Duchess did not know the Prince, known as MBS, was linked to the murder when she wore the earrings at a State dinner, or his appalling human rights record.
‘Those earrings were bought with blood money and given to her by a murderer,’ said Mr Eisner, chief operating officer of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn). ‘She has no business wearing them.’
The Chopard earrings were presented to the Queen by the Crown Prince as an official gift for Meghan on her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.
The Duchess wore them on the first night of a visit with her husband to Fiji on October 23, 2018 – three weeks after Mr Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and when there were prominent media reports linking MBS to the shocking assassination.
The Duchess’s lawyers last week insisted that at the time of the dinner she was unaware of speculation that MBS was involved in Mr Khashoggi’s murder. However, well-placed sources last night claimed the Duchess ignored advice from aides not to wear the jewellery.
At the time, the Kensington Palace press office told the media that the earrings had been ‘borrowed’ but did not say from whom. While the Royal Family’s guidelines regarding the acceptance and ownership of gifts were adhered to, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Palace aides were frustrated that the earrings were worn.