Suits creator says royal family didn't want Meghan Markle to say 'poppycock'

It appears the British royal family served as uncredited editors on Meghan Markle's legal drama Suits.

In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, creator Aaron Korsh claimed the royal family had some creative input over the show during the early days of star Markle's highly-publicized relationship with Prince Harry. In one particular instance, the royals weren't too keen on the word "poppycock."

"My wife's family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word, 'poppycock,'" Korsh said. "Let's say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didn't want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldn't hold him to anything he said, you'd be like, 'It's poppycock.'"

In an episode featuring a spat between Patrick J. Adams and Markle's leads and love interests Mike Ross and Rachel Zane, "as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have [Markle] say, 'My family would say poppycock,'" he recalled. "And the royal family did not want her saying the word. They didn't want to put the word 'poppycock' in her mouth. I presume because they didn't want people cutting things together of her saying 'cock.'"

The word was changed to "bullshit," Korsh said, "and I did not like it because I'd told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show. There was maybe one or two more things, but I can't remember."

Korsh said he had no recollection of how the royals got their hands on the scripts. "I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I don't remember the process by which they got them," he said. Though the royals' occasional input was "irritating" at times, "when they explained it that way, and I'm pretty sure it got explained to me that it was about that [splicing potential], I had some sympathy because I wouldn't want somebody doing that to her either," he conceded. "And the thing is, I didn't think anybody really would, but also I don't know. People are crazy."

Markle, who portrayed paralegal-turned-attorney Rachel Zane, made her final appearance in the season 7 finale in 2018, just a few weeks shy of her royal wedding to Prince Harry. (Adams also left after season 7, with the series ultimately concluding in 2019 after nine seasons.)

In his memoir Spare released earlier this year, Prince Harry similarly claimed that the palace communications team "often advised" the writers on Markle's dialogue, "what her character would do," and "how she would act," much to the TV team's frustration. He also wrote that his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton, were huge fans of Suits, calling them "religious" viewers whose "mouths fell open" when he informed them that he had begun dating Markle.

Reps for Markle and USA Network didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment, while reps for the royal family couldn't immediately be reached.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• The cast of Suits: Where are they now?
• Harry & Meghan shows couple getting a text from Beyoncé after their Oprah interview
• Harry & Meghan: The most shocking and revealing moments from the royal couple's Netflix doc