Palace to investigate whether Meghan bullied her staff
LONDON — In a sign of further tensions and tussles between Queen Elizabeth II and Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Buckingham Palace on Wednesday evening announced that its human resources department would investigate accusations by former employees that Meghan bullied her staff.
This highly unusual statement from Buckingham Palace stated “we are clearly very concerned about allegations” contained in an article Wednesday in the Times of London.
The newspaper reported that sources told the Times that Meghan was accused in a 2018 complaint of bullying staff, especially young women, “to the point of tears,” pushed two personal assistants “out of the household” and undermined confidence in a third.
The Buckingham statement does not endorse the newspaper’s account, but it does take it seriously enough to conclude that the palace “will look into the circumstances outlined in the article.”
This public airing of royal laundry is remarkable. In scandals past, the palace was loath to comment on anything, let alone internal investigations of how royal family members — known informally as “The Firm” — treat their courtiers and servants. And the palace goes further, noting that “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.”
The palace closes by advising, “The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”
All this comes as the royal family and their retinue of PR professionals brace themselves for Meghan and Harry’s appearance Sunday on a two-hour CBS special with Oprah Winfrey.
Winfrey released “teaser quotes” from her interview with the California power couple earlier this week suggesting some sensational dish was in store, promising viewers “there is no subject that is off limits.”
“You’ve said some pretty shocking things here,” Winfrey said to the couple, who lost their royal patronages and honorary military titles last month after confirming they would not return to their lives as “senior working royals.”