With just days to go before Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s prime-time interview with Oprah Winfrey hits the air, the couple had been expecting reaction from the palace. But when the Duchess of Sussex was informed by her team on Friday, February 26, that a small group of royal aides—past and present—had contributed to a “takedown” of her character in a British newspaper, including accusations of bullying and emotional cruelty toward staff, she was speechless, sources say.
“Harry and Meghan knew that it would get ugly in the run up [to the Oprah special], but seeing such an obvious attempt at destroying her character was distressing and upsetting,” a friend of the couple tells BAZAAR.com.
The details, shared in the March 3 edition of The Times of London, revealed that Meghan—who is currently pregnant with her second child—had been the subject of a formal email complaint sent to Buckingham Palace’s HR department in October 2018 by her then Kensington Palace press secretary Jason Knauf after reported concerns over her “unacceptable behaviour” towards staff.
In the email to Prince William’s newly appointed private secretary, Simon Case, Knauf expressed worry that the duchess “was able to bully two PA’s out of the [royal] household in the past year. … The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights.” He alleged that Meghan “drove” two personal assistants out and was “undermining the confidence” of a third staff member.
A follow-up email from Knauf to Case, who had started working for the Duke of Cambridge that summer, went on to question whether the establishment’s policy on bullying and harassment “applies to [members of the royal family].” He added that the palace’s head of PR, Samantha Carruthers, “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious.” Knauf left his role at Kensington Palace a month later but has continued to work closely with Prince William and Duchess Kate on their charitable foundation since.
As the article dropped online yesterday, lawyers acting for Meghan swiftly denied bullying accusations, with a spokesperson going on the record to address the situation publicly. “Let’s just call this what it is—a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” said the Sussex rep. “We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of the Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet. 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.”
A close friend of the duchess—who speaks on the condition of anonymity—shares their own take on the situation, telling BAZAAR, “I hate to say it, but find me a woman of color in a senior position who has not been accused of being too angry, too scary, too whatever in the workplace. It’s sad that it’s happening, but I’m not surprised. These claims are so far from the woman I know.”
Though the Times article does not include any examples or details of the alleged bullying, the newspaper does share the feelings of two palace aides—who during moments said they felt “terrified” and “broken” while working for the duchess. However, missing from the paper’s report is the detail that neither staff member made complaints of their own or were aware that Knauf had sent an email to HR citing grievances. “When it became known to [the two individuals], they each asked for the matter to be rescinded and for it to not become an official complaint,” a source tells BAZAAR.com. (Reports that Prince Harry tried to intervene have been denied by the couple’s lawyers.)
Accusations of being “difficult” are nothing new for the Duchess of Sussex, whose 5 a.m. emails, text messages, and American work ethic became the subject of a flurry of damning reports leaked to tabloids in 2018 by dissatisfied staff members, who preferred a more genteel pace. “It’s not about what she does, it’s the fact she is so bloody opinionated all the time,” a source says one “frazzled” aide confessed after working on her May 2018 wedding. Another, who worked with Meghan on a charity initiative, told a colleague, “Her expectations are unrealistic. She wants everything done now. This is not Hollywood!”
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One of those employees, personal assistant Melissa Toubati, left Kensington Palace in October 2018 after reportedly being “driven to tears,” according to British tabloid reports at the time. An aide anonymously defended the abrupt departure, quickly giving a glowing account of her tenure to the Daily Mail. However, it later emerged in court documents during Meghan’s privacy case against The Mail on Sunday that Toubati had, in fact, been dismissed from her role by the couple due to misconduct (the details of which are known to this author but cannot be repeated for legal reasons). In the Sussex biography, Finding Freedom, sources revealed that it was Knauf’s longtime friendship with Toubati that had led the Sussexes to believe that certain staff, including their own press secretary, were “more interested in protecting one of their own than [Meghan].”
One of Meghan's friends, who has known her for 10 years, adds, “I know that Meg would feel awful if she knew that someone felt that way about working with her, but I also know that no one ever approached her about anything like this at all during that time. I have never known her to be anything but kind and considerate to her friends and colleagues.”
When approached by BAZAAR, Buckingham Palace refused to answer a list of questions regarding the story (including why individuals currently working for the queen and other members of the royal family were allowed to contribute to the article); however, a spokesperson announced today that their HR team will soon be looking into the circumstances outlined in the Times 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,” read the statement. “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.”
For Harry and Meghan, who launched a suggested list of “real acts of compassion” on their Archewell Foundation website on Monday, their focus remains on work and not “what they feel is a pre-emotive strike on their interview,” says a friend. “You can’t ignore the timing of this,” a source close to the couple tells BAZAAR. “This has been done to undermine her character or undermine the topics that they discuss on Sunday.” One of the subjects will indeed be bullying, which a Sussex spokesperson says Meghan is “deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.”
Adds a friend, “They have had everything and the kitchen sink thrown at them this week, but ultimately nothing will stop them from sharing their truth.”
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