Just days ahead of their highly-anticipated joint interview with Oprah Winfrey; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are fighting back reports that accuse the Duchess of bullying royal staffers at Kensington palace before she and the Duke stepped down from their royal roles.
“Let’s just call this what it is; a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” a Sussex spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.
On Tuesday, Meghan came under fire after a story published in The Times of London reported that she faced a bullying complaint from a close adviser at Kensington Palace. The Duchess of Sussex says she is “saddened” by these accusations.
The Times reported that the complaint was made in October 2018 by Jason Knauf, the Sussexes’ communications secretary at the time; in a move that he intended would protect staffers after Meghan allegedly began to pressure them.
According to the Times of London report, the complaint claimed that she “drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.”
In several alleged incidents taking place after Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding; anonymous sources told the newspaper that staff members “would on occasion be reduced to tears”. One aide allegedly told a colleague, “I can’t stop shaking”; while in anticipation of a confrontation with Meghan, according to the report.
According to the Times report, two unnamed senior staff members also claimed that they were allegedly bullied by the duchess and another aide claimed it felt “more like emotional cruelty and manipulation.”