Buckingham Palace ‘hires law firm to investigate bullying claims against Meghan’

Buckingham Palace is hiring an independent legal firm to investigate accusations that Meghan Markle bullied royal staff, sources say. 

Last month two senior palace workers said they and other colleagues had been bullied and ‘humiliated’ by the Duchess. The Palace responded by saying it was ‘very concerned’ about the allegations and promised to invite staff to participate in an investigation. 

But now, The Sunday Times has reported that instead of an internal inquiry, a third-party will carry out the probe. 

Former and current aides, who were not able to speak out during Meghan Markle’s privacy case with the press, are expected to be able to have their say now. 

The Duchess has denied the accusations, calling them a ‘smear campaign’ and has had her representatives write to the Palace ‘to request the evidence’. 

The allegations were first revealed when an email from the Sussexes’ press secretary in October 2018 was leaked to The Times newspaper. 

Jason Knauf wrote to the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary: ‘I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X [Name redacted] was totally unacceptable.

‘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 behaviour towards Y.’ 

The email went on to say that Buckingham Palace’s head of HR, Samantha Carruthers, agreed with Mr Knauf ‘on all counts that the situation was very serious’.

But, according to a royal source quoted by The Sunday Times, ‘the actual worst incidences haven’t come out’. 

They told the newspaper: ‘There are some harrowing stories to tell.’ 

It comes as it was revealed last night that Prince William and Prince Harry had ‘been in contact’ for the first time since The Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah. 

The interview has been one of the biggest royal dramas in recent history. 

Meghan claimed someone in the royal family had concerns over how dark Archie’s skin would be. 

She also said that her pleas for help were ignored when she was feeling suicidal and reached out. 

The fallout has been huge with the Palace promising to take the issues raised ‘very seriously’ and deal with them privately. 

The only direct response has been from Prince William who told the press: ‘We are very much not a racist family.’

The Sussexes have declined to comment. Metro.co.uk has also contacted representatives for Buckingham Palace.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. 

For more stories like this, check our news page.