What's 'The Firm'? Why Meghan Markle Uses the Phrase in Oprah Winfrey Interview

In her tell-all, sit down interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle uses the phrase “The Firm” and you may be wondering what that even means.

“There is an active role that the Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us,” Meghan alleged about the royal family during one newly released clip from the interview, airing on Sunday (March 7).

Royal biographer Penny Junor described the term the best in her book, “The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor.” Basically, the phrase was coined by Prince Philip to describe the royal family and their business.

A blurb from Penny‘s book reads, “However you look at it, the royal family is a big business, though one with more ups and downs than the stock market. Prince Philip calls it ‘The Firm,’ and all the royal executives and their powerful associates are supposed to make every effort to avoid even a hint of scandal that could diminish the reputation of the family business.” Meghan actually alleged that “The Firm” is keeping negative stories about them in the media.

This past week, two new stories about Meghan Markle emerged, one with allegations of bullying towards her staffers while she was part of the royal family. Buckingham Palace released a statement about these allegations and launched an investigation. Twitter has been reacting to these new stories that were released just days before the sit-down interview.

Oprah with Meghan And Harry: A Primetime Special will air on Sunday (March 7) from 8-10pm ET on CBS.