Why the Queen Won't Release Meghan Markle's 'Inflammatory' Bullying Report
Protecting her family — and the crown. Royal expert Katie Nicholl explained that Queen Elizabeth II won’t release anything about the bullying report filed against Meghan Markle because the sovereign wants to shield the monarchy and her loved ones from the negativity.
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“Everything that I’m hearing at the moment out of the palace is that the Queen doesn’t want any more drama,” Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight on Monday, June 20. “She just doesn’t want any more dirty linens aired in public.”
Thus, the 96-year-old has allegedly decided to make sure the complaints filed against the Duchess of Sussex, 40, stay private. London’s The Times reported in March 2021 that one of the California native’s former advisers filed a bullying complaint against her when she and Prince Harry were living at Kensington Palace.
The pair’s former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, sent an email in 2018 that allegedly was forwarded to HR, The Times reported, claiming that the “Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year” and was “seeking to undermine” another employee’s confidence.
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A spokesperson for The Bench author denied the allegations in a statement at the time. “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,” a rep for Meghan said.
In August 2021, a new epilogue published in the paperback edition of the book Finding Freedom by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie claimed two of the people mentioned in the original complaint asked to withdraw the allegations.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that an investigation was launched, but they never announced the results nor did they confirm if any allegations were rescinded.
“Well, it’s been speculated that the reason that this investigation isn’t going to essentially see the light of day, at least in public, is to protect those who spoke out and made these allegations of bullying against the Duchess of Sussex, to protect their privacy, to protect their anonymity,” Nicoll explained to ET on Monday. “And there is some speculation that this would not have been particularly pleasant reading for the Duchess of Sussex, and possibly she’s being protected in all of this as well.”
The expert, who penned the book Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love, explained that the decision isn’t just about protecting people’s feelings. It’s about the public perception of the royal family. “But I think this really is just a case of keep a really very inflammatory story under the radar, not allowing any of it to be made public and what I suppose, the method in all of this, is to try and preserve the integrity of those staff, of the Duchess of Sussex and indeed of the reputation of the monarchy,” Nicholl said.
Royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti shared similar insights when speaking to Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month.
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“I think it would be wholly inappropriate for them to publish the report,” he explained. “The report was paid for privately by the queen and was conducted by an independent law firm. And I think they’ll keep it private now to protect the privacy of those people who took part and to limit tensions between the Sussexes and the palace. Let’s remember that, I think in any workplace, if there were an internal inquiry into bullying allegations, it would seem totally inappropriate for it to be then splashed across the press.”
The English journalist added that in addition to workplace protocol, Queen Elizabeth II has no interest in fueling family feuds. “I don’t think it’s going to do anyone any favors if they start to put all this out there now and start to inflame anger between the two parties,” Sacerdoti told Us. “Instead, I think that they’ve acted responsibly to undertake the investigation, because if there were allegations of bullying, they need to look into them as any employer should do.”
He concluded, “They’ve got the investigation done, they have their position on the allegations and they’re able to put in place modifications internally for the safeguarding of staff within the palace. And that’s really where this should end. … This doesn’t need to feed and fuel the soap opera that surrounds the royal family — that is not their interest.”
