The One Royal Who Wasn't Afraid To Put Meghan Markle In Her Place After Rumored Mean Girl Meltdown

The relationship Meghan Markle had with Queen Elizabeth II continues to be a subject of speculation years after the monarch's heartbreaking death. A royal expert previously said they quickly developed a close bond, and the Duchess of Sussex herself has only spoken positively of her interactions with her late grandmother-in-law, even suggesting to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that she could call Queen Elizabeth "just to check in" whenever she wanted, per People. However, an insider has since claimed to InTouch Weekly that "there was tension almost immediately" after they met and that the pair weren't exactly on good terms at the time of the monarch's passing due to Meghan and Prince Harry's abrupt royal exit and other messy moments with Queen Elizabeth. However, one thing that has remained consistent among the many stories from royal insiders about their dynamic was that the queen didn't hesitate to scold Meghan if she ever witnessed any mean girl behavior, especially toward royal staff.

One such incident supposedly occurred sometime during Meghan and Harry's final months in the U.K. before relocating to California in 2020. Royal historian Hugo Vickers told The Sun that the duchess was allegedly once "very rude" to one of the assistant gardeners who helped maintain the grounds of Windsor Home Park, where her and Harry's then-home, Frogmore Cottage, was located. It was unclear what led to the rumored altercation, but the head gardener apparently thought it didn't warrant Meghan's reaction, and he quickly reported it to the queen. This is said to have led to Meghan receiving a royal reprimand from Queen Elizabeth II herself. "The head gardener went to complain to the Queen and she told her off because she obviously didn't like people being rude to staff," Vickers said as he explained why he was "not surprised" by the bullying allegations against Meghan.

Meghan Markle has consistently denied the allegations that she mistreated staffers, but they have continued to plague the Duchess of Sussex, resurfacing in 2025 from some of the people she worked with after leaving the royal fold. An investigation launched by Buckingham Palace has since led to new policies that make it easier for royal staff to report any abuse in the workplace, but no member of the royal family spoke out to defend or condemn Meghan over the accusations, which included allegedly reducing some aides to tears.

The story might have been different behind the scenes, however, as Queen Elizabeth II seemingly had no problem calling out any disrespect toward palace staffers. In fact, she reportedly told off Meghan over how she spoke to staff before the ex-actress even officially became her granddaughter-in-law. During a food tasting in Windsor Castle before her wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan allegedly complained about one dish that was going to be part of their reception menu. "[Meghan] got very upset when she felt that she could taste egg in a dish when she was told there was no egg [in there]. And she said, 'No, I can taste it, I can taste there's egg in this dish,'" royal author Katie Nicholl told Yahoo! U.K.'s "Royal Box." 

The queen apparently witnessed this scene and took issue with how Meghan expressed her dissatisfaction with the food. "I think there was a bit of an upset when suddenly the queen walked in, because of course, this was Windsor Castle, this is her home. And she just quietly took Meghan to the side and said, 'Meghan, in this family, we don't speak to people like that,'" Nicholl added.