Meghan to Palace: Show me evidence I bullied my staff
Charles’s staff working round clock to sift through messages
THE Duchess of Sussex has written to Buckingham Palace demanding to see any documents, emails or text messages relating to the bullying complaint against her, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
A senior Palace aide had accused her of ‘unacceptable behaviour’ towards two personal assistants and undermining the confidence of a third. The Palace has now asked an outside law firm to conduct an inquiry into the claims.
But in a clear indication that the Duchess is preparing to fight back against what she has termed ‘a smear campaign’, a senior Palace source confirmed that her office had ‘written to request the evidence’.
News that Meghan is gearing up for a battle with the Palace to defend her reputation comes as:
● The Queen, 94, will go ahead with planned engagements this week to
‘The clearest sign of a fight against smear campaign’
continue the ‘business as usual’ approach taken since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their bombshell interview;
● Meghan’s friend Janina Gavankar joined the fightback by alleging that one of the PAs had been fired for ‘gross misconduct’ and did not leave because of bullying;
● Omid Scobie, the co-author of the Sussexes’ biography Finding Freedom, said he had seen an email from Meghan asking staff to correct a story that she had made the Duchess of Cambridge cry;
● Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation announced it would be supporting several charities including Mind, the mental health charity, Colour of Change, an American civil rights organisation, and PressPad, which seeks to improve diversity in the media;
● It emerged in a former post on Meghan’s blog The Tig that she knew all about the ‘pomp and circumstance surrounding the Royal Wedding and endless conversation about Princess Kate’ – seeming to contradict her claim that she had little knowledge of the Royal Family before she met Harry;
● The Palace said issues of race that emerged in Harry and Meghan’s interview – particularly the suggestion that a member of the Royal Family had raised questions and concerns about the colour of their unborn son’s skin – would be taken seriously and addressed privately.
Allegations of Meghan’s bullying behaviour has drawn fury from the Sussexes.
The accusation first came to light earlier this month when an email sent by Jason Knauf, the couple’s then press secretary, was leaked to The Times.
Written in October 2018 when the Sussexes were still living at Kensington Palace, Mr Knauf wrote: ‘I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X [Name redacted] was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.’
The email was sent to Simon Case, then the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary and now the Cabinet Secretary, after Mr Knauf’s conversations with Samantha Carruthers, head of HR at the Palace.
In his email, Mr Knauf said Ms Carruthers had ‘agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious’. He added: ‘I remain concerned that nothing will be done.’
Buckingham Palace has said it is ‘clearly very concerned’ about the allegations, adding: ‘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.’
But the Duchess’s spokesman hit back, saying she ‘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’.
The Palace had hoped that any investigation would be a private matter, but that looks less likely now that friends of the Duchess have seemingly been sanctioned to defend Meghan in public.
Buckingham Palace said last night: ‘Our commitment to look into the circumstances around allegations from former staff of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is being taken forward but we will not be providing a public commentary.’
The Sussexes did not respond to a request to comment.
‘For the Queen it’s still business as usual’
Following Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, what the Queen should do now is let them go their own way completely. No titles – just plain Mr and Mrs Windsor. Then whatever they do it can’t be related to any Royal connections which is in line with their wish to step back and be able to support themselves.
Linda Cragg, Grantham
I previously had a fair amount of sympathy for Harry and Meghan but sadly the Oprah interview has put paid to that. The British public took Meghan to their hearts and loved her. The Palace gave her a competent and experienced team to help her settle in and to get her accustomed to the protocols of being in the Royal Family. Instead of adapting to the way things are done, we are led to believe that Meghan insisted on doing things her own way, alienating her staff and causing resentment. Now everyone else is being blamed for the failures.
Gillian Towers, Lanchester, Co Durham
I don’t blame Harry and Meghan for wanting to leave this country. All they’ve done is decide they no longer want to live here and be conventional Royals. The rest of us have the choice to live where we want to and to follow whatever path we may wish to, so why can’t they?
Jo Black, London
I am disgusted at Harry and Meghan and the apparent contradictions that surfaced in their interview. Why should Prince Charles continue to finance their lifestyle – Harry is 36 years old, and supposedly wants to be independent and look after his family. I am afraid any love and respect the country have had for them in the past will have evaporated and we now wish they would disappear to lead the quiet life they say they want.
Mary Rogers, Aylesbury, Bucks
The bad press Meghan has received astounds me. She is a strong, confident woman, brave enough to break the rules, yet the more powerful or successful a woman becomes, the less people like her. This once joyful and confident woman is being crucified. Instead of everybody thinking, ‘Who does she think she is?’ how about we think,
‘Well done you’ for wanting to break tradition.
J. Drurie, Buckley, Flintshire
Without the Royal Family (and a title), Meghan certainly wouldn’t have achieved the publicity she has craved.
J. Licence, London
Their inward stance, at a time when the Duke of Edinburgh is seriously ill, shows a complete lack of thought for the Queen and her family at such a stressful period.
Roger Thomas, Heathfield, East Sussex
This distracting sideshow will take the minds of all readers off the Covid crisis which threatens to derail our economy. In much the same way that Nero fiddled while Rome burned, so our Royal Family will be fighting its own civil war while our economy groans under its imminent collapse.
Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs
I don’t think enough preparatory work was done before the couple’s wedding to explain to Meghan that by marrying a Royal her life and choices would be constrained and she wouldn’t be able to have a normal marriage with normal freedoms. If that had been done, we might be in a different place now.
M. Parker, Nottingham
How devastated and hurt Prince Charles must be. Basically his son has implied on TV that how his father is portrayed in The Crown is true. I feel deeply sorry for him.
E. Knight, Northland, New Zealand
While it makes sense that someone might not want to be a part of the Monarchy, the way the couple have gone about it is weird.
They seem to have been surprised by the fact that there are rules that come with the unbelievable privilege of being Royal. Why not leave with dignity and your head held high? Why all the ‘woe is me’ stuff?
C. Stewart, London
Meghan may have been telling
‘her truth’ to Oprah but was it
THE truth? Why didn’t Oprah question Meghan’s version of events? By conflating all of Meghan’s allegations, this interview has polarised people’s opinion.
Questions need to be asked of each allegation before we can reach the truth.
A. Smith, Croydon
What exactly do they want? They seek privacy yet conduct an interview with the most famous interviewer in the world.
They seek respect, yet trash the Monarchy and, in doing so, disrespect the Queen.
They seek for their voice to be heard yet silence anyone who disagrees with them.
L. Grey, Melbourne, Australia