It was unforeseeable that Meghan Markle would have such a brief tenure as a working member of the royal family. Departing the UK and the Firm after just a few years, their subsequent actions continue to reverberate today. Through numerous interviews and Harry’s forthcoming book, the couple levied various accusations against the royal family. As a result, their relationship with the royals has plummeted to its lowest point.
Despite Meghan’s initial popularity with the public, the reality behind closed doors presented a starkly different narrative. In 2022, The London Times’ royal correspondent Valentine Low released a bombshell book alleging that both Meghan and Harry mistreated their staff, with one individual reportedly being “completely destroyed” by their experience with the Sussexes.
Both Harry and Meghan vehemently refuted the sensational claims made in the book.
However, despite the passage of time since its publication, another individual has now stepped forward. Samantha Cohen, the former press secretary to the late Queen, has broken her silence on the matter.
Harry & Meghan
In 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows at St. George’s Chapel, marking the start of what many believed would be a lifelong dedication to the Crown. However, that vision was shattered before long.
On January 8, 2020, the couple took to their official Instagram account to make a significant announcement.
“We have decided to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and strive for financial independence while maintaining unwavering support for Her Majesty The Queen,” declared Harry and Meghan Markle.
“We intend to divide our time between the United Kingdom and North America, while upholding our responsibilities to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our charitable endeavors.”
Initially, it appeared that Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family had accepted their decision, acknowledging their right to pursue what they felt was best.
However, events quickly took a tumultuous turn.
The Oprah interview upended perceptions of the royal family, Harry, and Meghan. The couple’s revelations included allegations that members of the Firm had discussed concerns over their son Archie’s potential skin color before his birth. Additionally, Meghan criticized the lack of support from the Firm regarding her mental health struggles.
Subsequently, Harry published his memoir, “Spare,” divulging intimate details about his royal relatives, which incited fury among many, including Prince William and Kate Middleton.
In December 2022, just before the release of Harry’s book, the Sussexes launched a Netflix documentary series, promising to “share their intricate journey in their own words.”
Harry & Meghan Markle traveled on the “freedom flight”
The Netflix show followed Harry and Meghan’s journey as they left the royal family and started a new life in the US. They moved to Montecito, California, after living in Canada for a while. They bought a big house there and got ready for their second baby, Lilibet.
The show had pictures of the family, including their kids Archie and Lilibet, that nobody had seen before. It also showed what happened right after they left the royal family.
When Harry and Meghan got on a plane in Canada, it was the moment they officially said goodbye to their royal life.
Harry called the flight “the freedom flight.” He meant they finally felt free to do what they wanted, instead of doing royal duties all the time.
They flew on a private jet with Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland. This was shown in the last episode of the Netflix show. Harry recorded a video inside the plane, showing Meghan, their dogs, and Archie.
“We are on the freedom flight, we are leaving Canada, and we are headed to Los Angeles,” Harry said, putting his finger to his mouth as if in a “shh” moment.
“Here’s Grandma…” he added, showing Doria.
Harry then panned to Meghan, wearing casual clothes and a bobble hat, sitting alongside Archie, a baby at the time.
“Say hi, Archie. We’re about to go where mummy’s from,” Meghan said.
Some people thought they looked happy on the plane, but others thought they looked worried. A body language expert said they seemed in a hurry to leave Canada and looked tired and stressed.
Harry and Meghan have said they felt mistreated while being part of the royal family.
However, some staff members also felt they were treated badly by Harry and Meghan….
Meghan Markle was accused of bullying royal staff members
In 2021, The Times reported that some royal aides had told the newspaper about a bullying complaint against Meghan Markle by one of her former aides while she and Harry lived at Kensington Palace.
The complaint accused Meghan of mistreating two personal assistants, which was found in an email by Jason Knauff, who was then acting as Kensington Palace’s communications secretary.
According to The Times, Jason emailed Prince William’s private secretary to share his worries.
“I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights,” Knauff wrote.
“She is bullying (name removed) and seeking to undermine her confidence.”
Just a month later, Knauff resigned. Around the same time, Meghan responded to the bullying claims, saying she was “saddened” by them. Despite Harry and Meghan calling the accusations a “completely false story,” Buckingham Palace decided to look into the concerns.
In June 2023, the palace announced that they had looked into how the staff handled the bullying allegations against Meghan Markle. Though they didn’t share the details of the independent review, officials said they updated the palace’s human resources policy. However, they didn’t say what changes were made.
“Young women were broken by their behaviour”
The email, first sent in October 2018, was leaked just days before Harry and Meghan spoke with Oprah Winfrey. Their spokesperson called it a “smear.”
But that wasn’t the only report about Meghan’s treatment of her aides. In 2022, author Valentine Low published the book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, which made some shocking claims. It quoted sources saying Meghan yelled at her former staff and verbally attacked them multiple times.
“There were a lot of broken people,” said one insider. “Young women were broken by their behavior.”
In the book, Low described how Meghan once criticized a young female worker harshly in front of others.
“Don’t worry. If there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you,” Meghan reportedly said to the staffer.
Low also claimed in Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown that one staff member was “completely destroyed” after working with Harry and Meghan. Another royal aide said that the couple would call them during Friday dinner just to scold them.
“Every 10 minutes I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this. You’ve let me down. What were you thinking?'” the aide said. “It went on for a couple of hours.”
Harry said rivalry with William “poisoined the atmosphere” at his and Meghan’s office
Harry addressed the allegations in Spare, admitting that “More than once a staff member slumped across their desk and wept.”
“It was also said that she pushed our assistant to leave; however, that assistant was actually asked to resign by Palace HR after we provided evidence that she abused her position with Meghan to get freebies. But because we couldn’t talk publicly about why the assistant left, rumors spread.”
Harry also mentioned there was “frequent arguing around the office,” with “sides being taken: Team Cambridge versus Team Sussex.”
He went on: “There was a lot of rivalry, jealousy, and competing interests—it poisoned the atmosphere. And with everyone working non-stop, it didn’t help. There were so many demands from the press, so many mistakes that needed fixing, and we didn’t have enough people or resources.”
The controversy around Meghan Markle’s alleged mistreatment of her staff has been quiet for some time. However, Samantha Cohen, the former press secretary of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has chosen to speak out.
In an interview with the Herald Sun, Cohen confirms her involvement in the discussions during the investigation into Meghan and the allegations of bullying.
Former press secretary Samantha Cohen breaks silence
She didn’t provide more details about the investigation itself. However, Cohen mentioned that Buckingham Palace struggled to find replacements for Harry and Meghan’s aides due to high staff turnover.
“I was only supposed to stay for six months but ended up staying for 18. We couldn’t find someone to replace me, and when we finally did, we took them on tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to train them. But they also left while we were in Africa,” Samantha Cohen said.
Cohen was also mentioned in Valentine Low’s book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown. According to a friend, Meghan Markle and Harry had yelled at Cohen before and during the flight to Australia for their 2018 tour.
“Sam always said it was like working for a couple of teenagers. They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable,” the friend said to the author.
“She had to constantly defend Harry and Meghan while enduring their mistreatment.”
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