Palace to keep report of Duchess bullying inquiry secret
Royal report on complaints made by Duchess’s staff stays under wraps after three-year investigation
AN OFFICIAL investigation into the handling of bullying allegations made against the Duchess of Sussex will be kept secret, with even those who participated kept in the dark about findings, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The review, conducted by an independent legal firm, will never be published, nor will staff be updated on the changes made as a result.
The decision, confirmed by aides, has raised serious questions about transparency, and one source critical of the review last night wondered: “What was the point?”
A small number of aides who worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were interviewed as part of the inquiry, and have been informed only that it has now concluded and unspecified changes to internal policies have been made.
Senior Palace aides had previously indicated that any findings that resulted in changes to HR procedures would be made public in the Sovereign Grant Report, the annual financial review published by Buckingham Palace. But as the latest report is published today, there is no mention of bullying.
“Recommendations will be taken forward, but we will not be commenting further,” a senior source said. “Lessons have been learned.”
The allegations were first made in writing in October 2018, when the couple’s then press secretary wrote to their private secretary outlining his concern “that the Duchess was able to bully two PAS out of the household”.
A spokesman for the Sussexes did not comment yesterday, and did not respond to suggestions that the Duke and Duchess’s lawyers have been in touch with the Palace throughout the process.
It is understood that members of the Royal family are “aware” of HR bullying policies, with members of staff able to access current guidance on the intranet known as “Coronet”.
A source said bullying and harassment policies were “constantly” being updated, but could not confirm whether there had been specific changes following the review.
‘This should have been an opportunity to do the right thing. Now it looks like they’re going to do nothing instead’
MORE than three years after the first complaint was filed, the Duchess of Sussex bullying row has ended just as it began: in silence.
Then, it was an email sent between two close colleagues, raising quiet concerns over the treatment of palace staff.
Now, it is a secret report blocked not only from the public but even to those who took the time to contribute.
The Duchess is unscathed but unvindicated, with no further details coming to light about the alleged bullying she has vehemently denied.
In October 2018, Jason Knauf, then the press secretary to the Cambridges and the Sussexes as they attempted to work together, voiced concerns about what he had seen in the household.
“I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAS out of the household in the past year,” he wrote in an email to Simon Case, then the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary and now working in politics as the Cabinet Secretary.
“The treatment of X 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 Daily Telegraph is not naming X and Y because of the nature of the allegation and the effect it has had on them. The note also expressed concern about the treatment of Samantha Cohen, a senior member of staff then working as the Sussexes’ private secretary.
Critically, it added: “I questioned if the household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals.”
The email was passed to HR, but the complaint did not progress into any known action. In the same month, it was reported that the Cambridges and Sussexes were preparing to split their households.
In early 2019, the news was confirmed, with rumours about the unhappy situation at Kensington Palace gaining traction along with headlines about “Duchess Difficult”.
More than two years later, as the Duke and Duchess prepared to sit down with Oprah Winfrey to tell “their” truth about their time in the Royal family together, details of the bullying complaint were leaked to The Times. They were denied by the couple’s team, who said they were victims of a “calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation”.
“We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet,” their lawyers said.
“It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining the Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and the Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years.”
Jenny Afia, the Duchess’s lawyer, later said: “What bullying actually means is improperly using power repeatedly and deliberately to hurt someone, physically or emotionally. The Duchess of Sussex absolutely denies ever doing that.
“Knowing her as I do I can’t believe she would ever do that.”
Finally, a palace spokesman made a statement saying they were “clearly very concerned” about the accusations.
Announcing a review that would be funded privately – meaning by the Queen or Prince of Wales – he added: “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 learnt.”
Only a handful of staff were approached, it is understood, with others who worked there in a similar time period left wondering whether their input was wanted. Most, if not all, are thought to have now left the household.
The Sussexes were initially thought to be uninvolved in the report, which focused on how allegations could have been handled differently by the palace rather than if bullying occurred.
The lawyers are said to have been in close contact with Buckingham Palace, but a spokesman did not reply to a request for comment on the matter.
At the time, the findings were intended to be published only as part of an HR section of the annual financial report, in an attempt to downplay the details and focus on “lessons learned”.
But as months rolled on, current and former members of the household were left increasingly frustrated at the lack of action. Said to have been disappointed it had been “buried”, some felt let down by an apparent focus on managing the PR strategy over reassuring staff.
“This should have been an opportunity to do the right thing,” one source said in April. “Now it looks like they’re going to do nothing instead.”
That fear, it emerged yesterday, has come to pass – at least as far as the public and participants are concerned.
The big reveal from Buckingham Palace? The review has concluded, recommendations have been made and changes to internal policies have been implemented. Lessons have definitely been learned, by unnamed and unknown people.
Even the couple in California should be left unsatisfied, with no vindication for the Duchess and no answer to the question of what really happened.
The report, which remains on file somewhere in the palace, may one day come to light at a more convenient moment, perhaps one for the historians.
Today, as that painful episode of palace life fizzles out of public consciousness with no resolution, those who contributed to the report will be left wondering: why did they bother at all?