Meghan Markle Denies Reports That She Bullied Her Staff At Kensington Palace (UPDATE)
The Royal Family is likely nervously sweating into their afternoon tea as we get closer to Sunday, aka the day CBS will air Oprah Winfrey’s exclusive “no question off limits” interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The royals are most likely not too psyched about what Harry and Meghan might have to say, considering we already know they both feel like they got the shit end of the scepter when they were still working as senior royals. Several royal sources have been suggesting that their interview should disappear, at least temporarily, out of respect for Prince Philip’s current health problems. But with only four days to go and no word from CBS about pulling the interview, it looks like the interview is going to happen. And well well well, what do you know, we just so happen to have a brand new report out of the UK, claiming that Meghan was a mean bully boss to her former staff at Kensington Palace. Of course, Meghan is denying that, and chalking it all up to a desperate attempt at character assassination.
Yesterday, The Times published a report claiming that several royal aides (who wished to remain anonymous) came to them with stories about what it was allegedly like to work under Meghan Markle when she was still a senior royal working out of Kensington Palace. The sources claim they decided to speak to The Times because they felt the public was only going to get a one-sided view of Harry and Meghan’s time as senior royals after watching their CBS interview. The Times writes that a formal complaint was filed against Meghan in October 2018 by Jason Knauf, Harry and Meghan’s former communications secretary. Jason claimed in his complaint that Meghan had “drove two personal assistants out of the household,” and “undermined” the confidence of a third. One anonymous source claims that leading up to the anticipation of a confrontation with Meghan, they confessed to another fellow co-worker that they “couldn’t stop shaking.” Jason Knauf allegedly submitted the report, due to multiple employees being “reduced to tears” after working with Meghan, and he was hoping to protect future employees.
And according to The Times, Harry and Meghan allegedly knew about the complaint filed by Jason Knauf, because Harry allegedly tried to convince him not to file it. via People magazine:
A source says that Harry pleaded with Knauf not to pursue the HR complaint. According to The Times, lawyers for Meghan and Harry deny that any meeting took place or that the Duke of Sussex would have interfered with any staff matter.
Knauf reportedly sent an email to Simon Case, Prince William’s private secretary at the time and now the cabinet secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Case then forwarded it to Carruthers. In his email, Knauf said Carruthers “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious.” He added: “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.”
Prince William’s people got involved because Harry and William were both sharing an office and both living with their families at Kensington Palace. The same month that the alleged HR complaint was made, Harry decided to move out of his shared offices with William. The following year, Harry and Meghan left Kensington Palace for Frogmore Cottage.
If we jump in the time machine and go way back in Harry and Meghan Gossip History, we’ll be reminded that the press was reporting on rumors about Meghan’s relationship with her staff. Like that her bodyguard quit, that her personal assistant shocked everyone by suddenly quitting, that her personal aide quit right after Meghan gave birth, they went through three nannies in six weeks, that she terrorized her staff by expecting email responses at 5am, that Meghan made Duchess Kate cry during a flower girl dress fitting for Meghan’s wedding. Of course, it’s important to remember that any staff employed at Kensington Palace might also have had a working relationship with William and Kate, and there’s been no end to the shady favoritism there.
If only there was a way we could verify these claims. Does Meghan Markle have a Glassdoor.com page? She doesn’t? Crap, ok well, we’re just going to have to take Harry and Meghan’s word for it, which is that Meghan is no such employer. She released this statement through her rep:
“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,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement obtained by People. “She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”
One source who spoke to People said that The Times’ timing with their little workplace éxposé feels a bit like the Royal Family’s attempt to get ahead of Harry and Meghan’s interview. Well, yeah. They sure as hell can’t get in a rebuttal afterward. What is Queen Elizabeth going to do? Frantically call up her friends at the BBC and offer an exclusive interview with their side of the story? No, because we know what happened the last time she did that. It ended with awkward sweat denials and blatant pizza lies.
UPDATE: While the Palace continues to not fully investigate Prince Andrew’s alleged creeper ways, they have announced that they’re looking into the allegations against Meghan Markle.
“We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Accordingly, our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. 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.”
Pic: Wenn.com