Perhaps the greatest irony in
the campaign by the Sussexes to present themselves as having been ‘silenced’ by
the monarchy is that the very people who have the receipts to prove what really
happened are themselves silenced by law.
The Sussex Survivor Squad, as
they now refer to themselves, are the band of once loyal staff members who made
a herculean bid to keep Meghan Markle happy as a new member of the
British Royal Family, only to see their efforts burnt down time and again
by the American actress and her deeply unhappy husband Prince Harry.
It’s easy to understand why
many of the previously devoted courtiers are now convinced the couple were on a
self-destruct mission from day one, looking for any slight, grievance or
apparent discrimination to weaponize against the institution that was working
so hard to appease them.
These staff members, many of
whom had personally devastating exits from the employ of the Sussexes, have
been unable to speak publicly, even to correct the record, constrained by
draconian confidentiality provisions of working for the Royal Family, including
the Official Secrets Act.
But over the past three days
their stories have taken centre stage in the latest round of the Royal Family
fighting back against the Sussexes thanks to a bombshell book by the highly
respected royal correspondent for The Times Valentine Low, who has diligently
covered the monarchy for a quarter of a century.
While I have long been aware
of the acrimony behind-the-scenes, to read the words of the staff members, who
were once prepared to dedicate much of their lives to serving the Sussexes, is
still shocking.
The most damning conclusion is
that Meghan is a ‘narcissistic sociopath’ who ‘played’ her former advisers, but
that is just the beginning of the devastating claims.
During a walkabout in Fiji,
Meghan is reported to have said: ‘I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for
this.’
It was like ‘working for a
couple of teenagers, according to the reported words by Low of Samantha Cohen,
their highly regarded private secretary who had been recommended by the Queen
after years of loyal service.
And Meghan’s behaviour had
apparently been difficult and demanding from the start, including when she is
said to have threatened to dump Harry unless he released his first statement
eviscerating the media and confirming their relationship.
A source told Low: ‘She was
saying, “If you don’t put out a statement confirming I’m your girlfriend,
I’m going to break up with you”.’
In fact, he reports, ‘keeping
Meghan happy – and, by extension, keeping Harry happy – was an ongoing
challenge.’
Six months before their
engagement was announced, Low claims that Meghan ominously told one of Harry’s
courtiers: ‘I think we both know I’m going to be one of your bosses soon.’
Once the preparation for the
wedding got underway, Meghan’s behaviour appeared to worsen. I was the first
journalist to break the story of Tiaragate, where Harry was warned by the Queen
about the way Meghan was speaking to close advisers, and the fact Kate had
fallen out with her sister-in-law over the treatment of staff by Meghan at Kensington
Palace.
Low’s book recounts one
occasion where Meghan had been especially horrid to a young female staff member
at a meeting, telling her: ‘Don’t worry. If there was literally anyone else I
could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.’
