The Buckingham Palace in a statement on Wednesday announced it is going to investigate allegations of bullying that were made against Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex by royal aides in a recent report by a British newspaper.
The story, which was published by The Times on Tuesday, claimed a bullying complaint was filed against Meghan by one of her closest advisers in 2018. Royal aides who spoke to the newspaper alleged the Duchess kicked two personal assistants out of her Kensington Palace residence and also undermined the confidence of another staff member. The Duchess and her husband, Prince Harry, resided at the Kensington Palace following their wedding.
The sources told the news outlet they wanted to set the records straight as they felt reports pertaining to Meghan’s time as a working royal that had been made public were only partial and expressed their concerns over how the palace handled issues of bullying. The sources also said they wanted the public to know their side of the story ahead of Meghan and Prince Harry’s highly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey that is set to be shown on Sunday. This is going to be the couple’s first sit-down television interview after they stepped back as working members of the royal family in January last year and relocated to the United States.
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In a statement on Wednesday, Buckingham Palace expressed their concerns over the bullying allegations, CNN reported. “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,” the statement said. “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.”
After the Duke and Duchess announced they were stepping back as working royals, there were reportedly rumors of tensions between the couple and other members of the royal family. Responding to the allegations against the Duchess, a representative for the couple said the report by The Times was “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,” the spokesperson added.
“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. 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.”
CNN also reports the spokesperson labeled the report by the newspaper as “defamatory” and confirmed they had sent them a legal letter of rebuttal. Ahead of the couple’s interview with Oprah on Sunday, a snippet of their “tell it all” was released on Wednesday, sparking a media frenzy.
In the snippet, the media mogul asks the pregnant Meghan how she feels about the “palace hearing you speak your truth today?” The Duchess replies: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”
“And, if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean… there is a lot that has been lost already.”
