Palace Insiders Reveal Just How Poorly Meghan Markle Allegedly Treated Her Former Employees
After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry put project Sussexit in motion, they sat down with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 to discuss why they relinquished their roles as working royals and moved to California. They spoke at length about not feeling protected and supported, and Meghan explained that the onslaught of negative stories from palace insiders played a role in their decision to speak out about their experiences. "I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that 'The Firm' is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us," she said.
Some members of "The Firm" — a nickname for the royal family and everyone who works for them — seemed to launch a preemptive strike against the duke and duchess by sharing their side of the story before the Oprah interview aired. Speaking to The Times, aides accused both Meghan and Harry of creating a toxic work environment by bullying staff, with one source saying, "There were a lot of broken people. Young women were broken by their behavior."
Now, Harry's preparing to release a memoir and the book has Buckingham Palace courtiers shaking in their boots, per the Daily Mail. But once again, some of the Sussexes' former aides will get to control the narrative first, thanks to the publication of "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown." According to Page Six, the book details additional claims about Meghan's alleged mistreatment of staff.
Meghan Markle allegedly screamed at one staffer
"Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown" was penned by Valentine Low, The Times reporter who previously wrote about Meghan Markle's alleged bullying, so some of the claims in the book will be familiar to those who read Low's pieces for the British publication. In excerpts published by Page Six, Meghan is painted as a tough, cruel boss akin to Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada." According to Low, she berated one staffer by telling her, "Don't worry. If there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you."
Some aides were purportedly petrified over the prospect of having to speak to Meghan, and one staffer accused both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of having terrible tempers. "Every 10 minutes I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry," the source claimed. "It went on for a couple of hours."
In an interview with ET Canada, royal expert Omid Scobie, co-author of the book "Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family," suggested that cultural differences caused some of the tension between Meghan and royal staffers, who were not used to dealing with someone who wanted to do as much work as she did. "You know, getting up in the morning, sending the emails out, being available 24/7, and wanting to be involved every step of the way," he said of her work ethic.
Buckingham Palace investigated the bullying claims
In response to Valentine Low's piece for The Times about the bullying allegations against Meghan Markle, Buckingham Palace announced that it was launching an investigation into the claims. Per BBC News, it released a statement reading in part, "Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned."
Low had reported that Jason Knauf, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's former communications secretary, had been so concerned about the couple's alleged behavior toward their staff that he lodged a complaint against them in 2018, accusing them of bullying two aides so badly that they resigned from their positions. Meghan's statement in response to Low's piece read, in part, "The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma."
Buckingham Palace hired an outside law firm to look into the matter, The Times reported, and it concluded its review in June 2022. However, a palace official told BBC News that the findings would remain confidential. According to Us Weekly sources, Meghan would have preferred for the results to be made public, but viewed the outcome as a victory. "She and Harry are looking forward to putting the incident behind them," said one insider.
The aide who filed the complaint against Meghan Markle no longer works for the royal family
After filing the complaint that sparked the bullying scandal, Jason Knauf later played a role in Meghan Markle's legal battle with Mail on Sunday. She had successfully sued the paper's parent company, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), over the publication of a private letter to her father. But ANL appealed the case, and Knauf got involved by producing emails from Meghan suggesting that she knew that the letter could be leaked to the press, per The Guardian. However, ANL lost its appeal in December 2021.
Knauf continued working for the royal family after he stepped down as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's communications secretary. While he was providing evidence against Meghan, he held the position of chief executive of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales' Royal Foundation nonprofit. In an interview with "The Royal Beat" (via Newsweek), Dickie Arbiter, Queen Elizabeth II's former press secretary, said that Knauf most likely consulted with the Prince and Princess of Wales before handing his email correspondence with Meghan over to ANL's attorneys.
In May 2021, The Guardian reported that Knauf was resigning from his role with the Royal Foundation at the end of the year, which made his official exit happen the same month Meghan emerged victorious in her legal battle. "I am moving to India to join my husband on a diplomatic posting," Knauf wrote on LinkedIn.