A royal expert has claimed that bullying reports involving Meghan Markle were kept under wraps by the Firm in order to protect then-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, was accused of bullying multiple members of the royal staff when she lived in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020.
In 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan’s communications secretary Jason Knauf penned an email to Prince William’s private secretary complaining about the former Suits actress’ behaviour after she allegedly drove two personal assistants out of their jobs and undermined another staffer.
Knauf claimed in the correspondence that there had been “report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour” towards employees.
The emails were reported by The Times in 2021, just days before the Sussexes’ sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, and painted Meghan as a controlling boss who left her workers feeling humiliated and scared.
Now, a royal expert has revealed that the reason the Firm’s bullying report never came to light was because they didn’t want questions raised about the then-Duke of York, 66.
Andrew Lownie, who penned the book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, claimed that Andrew’s treatment of staff was also a major talking point during that period of time.
“Buckingham Palace braced itself for historic complaints about Prince Andrew’s bullying, profanities and impossible demands,” Lownie said while discussing possible reasons the claims against Meghan were never formally published.
“Some say a report on bullying accusations against Meghan Markle has never been released because it would also raise questions about the behaviour of the Queen’s second son,” he added.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex denied the claims and branded them as a calculated “attack on her character”.
Knauf’s complaint wasn’t the last time Meghan would be hit with allegations of ill treatment towards her staff.
In August this year, she was accused of berating workers at a luxury hotel before later humiliating a young woman interviewing for a palace job.
Sarah Vine, a British journalist and columnist, recounted two alleged incidents involving the royal in a scathing Daily Mail on Sunday column, titled: Meghan and Harry: a decade of drama.
According to Vine, the first encounter took place at the opening of Soho House in Istanbul, Turkey, back in 2015, prior to Meghan meeting Harry in 2016 and joining the Royal Family.
Vine said a friend who attended the event recalled being in the hotel lobby when a “very pretty American woman strode up to the front desk” and began complaining.
“She proceeded to berate the staff about some kind of problem in her room,” Vine wrote.
“My friend couldn’t quite catch the details, but the general gist seemed to be that she was unhappy with the quality of her goodie bag, which she felt was insufficiently lavish in its largess.
According to Vine, her friend had “no idea who the angry American was” at the time, but they put two and two together a year later when photographs emerged of Prince Harry’s new girlfriend, Meghan.
Vine then recalled a second incident that she heard about from a friend with contacts inside the royal household.
The Duchess of Sussex was allegedly interviewing prospective employees when a “young girl – a perfectly harmless and nervous Sloane in her early 20s” was “ushered into her presence”.
“Meghan was sitting at her desk, reading some papers,” Vine said, adding: “For what seemed like an eternity, she kept her eyes down, ignoring the girl completely.
“She then glanced up, examined her, then went back to work. ‘You can leave,’ she said. And that was that.”
Vine signed off the column with a pointed warning to the Duke of Sussex, writing: “One for Harry to ponder, perhaps, as he considers his future within the Royal Family.”