Royal Experts Claim Meghan Markle's Bullying Report Was Squashed For A Specific Reason
Meghan Markle's bullying controversy has captivated royal fans, not least because it chafes against the duchess' description of The Firm as a cold, unhelpful institution that left her to suffer alone with severe mental health issues during her time there (via Elle).
As Insider notes, The Times published a shocking report about the former actor's allegedly bad behavior, taken from well-placed palace sources. "Staff would on occasion be reduced to tears; one aide, anticipating a confrontation with Meghan, told a colleague: 'I can't stop shaking,'" they revealed.
At the time, Markle's spokesperson described the move as "a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation," reasoning that its release was specifically timed to coincide with the Sussexes' infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, in an attempt to discredit the duchess and husband Prince Harry.
Jason Knauf, who previously acted as the couple's communications secretary, lodged a formal complaint about Markle's misconduct, expressing his concern over her behavior and the effect it was having on staff. Knauf subsequently resigned his post as a royal aide.
In a stunning move, Buckingham Palace launched an official review into what really happened but, as The Sunday Times recently confirmed (via ET), the findings will not be made public as expected. And, according to a royal expert, there's one major reason why.
Meghan Markle wasn't the only one the report targeted
The findings from an internal review into the bullying claims made against Meghan Markle by various staff members were so explosive they had to be buried. On Newsweek's "The Royal Report" podcast, chief royal correspondent Jack Royston teased out the real reasons the palace might have decided not to release its findings after they were slated to be published in the Sovereign Grant financial report.
"If that report were published it would be a complete bloodbath on all sides and nobody would come out of it looking any good at all," Royston opined. "I think Buckingham Palace will have taken one look at this and thought 'we're just going to look awful — this is going to make us look absolutely appalling' and if every single fact and allegation came out I just think it would be a complete mud fight and there would be mud over everybody."
The royal expert pointed out that it wasn't technically even an investigation since that wouldn't have been an option for someone not employed by the royal family. Moreover, the problems occurred at Kensington Palace, not Buckingham. Royston described a "toxic culture" at Kensington that nobody came out of unscathed. As a result, opting not to release anything is safer in the long run.
Per Page Six, the official word is that the report is being kept private to prevent further harm to the Sussexes' relationship with the royal family.
Fans are calling out the royal family for targeting the duchess
Although Meghan Markle will likely be relieved that the review is complete, certain commentators reckon she's been let down by the lack of public clarity on the matter.
Express confirms that author Sam Leith rallied behind the duchess to force the royal family to release their findings. Their silence might add fuel to the fire, Leith argued, leaving Markle "at the mercy of speculation and innuendo." Although the results are reportedly being kept secret to protect those involved, now the public doesn't know what to believe. "This is the worst of all possible worlds for the Duchess of Sussex," said Leith.
Moreover, the author asserted that keeping quiet stokes the kind of tensions that Markle accused the palace of encouraging when she first spoke out. "Letting it be known that it's being done to keep the Sussexes sweet makes things even worse," he said.
Social media isn't buying it, either, with #theroyalfamilylied trending as fans called on The Firm to finally do right by Markle. As one user pointed out, the former actor was never accused of bullying staff until she joined the monarchy, a statement that was backed up by many of her former colleagues, as the Mirror notes.
Although the report won't be published, there are upcoming changes to the palace's HR policies that should prevent a similar situation from happening again. For fans of the duchess, though, it simply isn't good enough.
The palace doesn't want to upset Meghan and Harry, says one royal expert
Many fans of the royal family wish that the report would be released so the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, would have the opportunity to clear up the allegations made against her (via The Guardian).
Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, said, "To my mind, this perceived desire for complete transparency has taken a huge step backwards because of their reluctance to expand on the report into the palace handling of the bullying allegations."
More royal experts weighed in on the failure to make the reports public. On the "Palace Confidential" podcast, Kate Mansey of the Mail on Sunday stated (via Mail Plus), "I've never been at a briefing in my 20-plus years of reporting experience where something has been so comprehensively swept under the carpet."
She added, "It's extraordinary that these allegations can be made at such a high level and the public might never know the result of the review that's been carried out."
Richard Eden of the Daily Mail speculated on the podcast that the palace didn't release the report in order to keep the peace with Meghan and Prince Harry.
"At this briefing yesterday it sounds like [the palace was] really going on about how grateful they were that [Harry and Meghan] came over, and really giving quite personal details about meetings with Prince Charles and that sort of thing," he said. "They seem desperate not to upset them and I think that's a mistake."