When it comes to Meghan Markle — who has repeatedly cried that life in England with the royal family was so hard for her it was “almost not survivable” — who is doing the bullying? Why did 10 people flee employment at the palace under Meghan and Harry, and all in less than two years?
“Once people join ‘The Firm’ [as Buckingham Palace’s working operations are known] they tend to stay. The swift departure of Meghan’s aides raised eyebrows because it was so unusual,” Dawn Neesom, former editor of England’s Daily Star newspaper, told the Post. “No one pretends that working in a royal household is easy and dealing with ‘difficult’ personalities is par for the course. Prince Philip has never suffered fools and [Princess] Anne is her father’s daughter. They can be gruff and grumpy but they appreciate what the staff does and that it’s a tough job.
“Any form of bullying would be seen as totally beyond the pale though,” added Neesom, who has met the royal family on several occasions. “Working for the royals isn’t just a job or even a career. It’s a lifestyle — a long-term thing.”
The palace gates were blown wide open this week when CBS dropped clips of its upcoming Oprah Winfrey interview with the couple, in which Meghan’s description of royal life is apparently so bad that Winfrey calls it “shocking.”
Within days, someone within the Palace decided to fight back, and an HR complaint that had been filed in October 2018 by Meghan’s former head of communications, Jason Knauf, was revealed in the Times of London.
“I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of [redacted] was totally unacceptable,” Knauf wrote in the complaint — adding that it hadn’t stopped.
“The duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying ‘Y’ and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y.”
Some former employees are said to be referring to themselves as the “Sussex Survivors Club.”
A representative for the Sussexes told The Times that Harry and Meghan were victims of a “calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful information … 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.”
The day after the Knauf letter was revealed, the Palace announced a probe into the Markle bullying allegations; within hours, CBS dropped another clip from the Oprah interview in which Markle said the Palace “perpetuated falsehoods” about the couple, adding: “And if that comes with the risk of losing things,” she adds, “there’s a lot that’s been lost already.”
JJ Anisiobe, formerly of OK! Magazine and a senior reporter for the upcoming British entertainment news show, “News To Me,” told The Post: “A source close to the royals told me, ‘It wouldn’t be a stretch to think not everyone got along with Meghan and there were clashes with staff.’”
But, Neesom warned, with this interview, the couple will be opening Pandora’s box they can’t shut.
“Now Meghan had Harry have exposed this themselves and the Royals have no choice but to follow up allegations, even if only for official Human Resources and employment reasons,” Neesom said. “It’s a mess that has opened up a festering wound that will never be healed. No matter what Harry does now — or what happens in the Sussexes’ marriage — there will be no way back from this.”
In fact, a source told The Mirror: “A group of people are queuing up to be involved. They have been silent for too long and there is much to talk about.”
For instance, Amy Pickerill, Meghan’s assistant private secretary, quit working for the Sussexes in March 2019, after just one year and seven months. She was on the infamous Royal tour to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji during which Markle is said to have made one of her staffers cries, according to eyewitness accounts by a Daily Mail reporter who was on the tour.
At the time of her quitting, sources said Pickerill was leaving as she was moving abroad. But Pickerill came back to the family, just not with Meghan: She is currently Director of The Earthshot Prize at The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
