A spokesperson for Meghan Markle said she is “saddened” by reports published on Tuesday that she faced a bullying complaint during her time at Britain’s Kensington Palace before she quit royal duties. The Times newspaper reported members of the royal household staff had complained they had been bullied by her. The news came just days before the airing of an interview that Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, as she is formally known, gave to US chat show host Oprah Winfrey about their decision last year to step down from royal duties.
“The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself,” her spokesman said.
“She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right.”
According to a report by The Sun Daily, Harry and Markle said The Times was being used to “peddle a wholly false narrative” before the TV interview. Buckingham Palace has started an investigation into the claims that she had bullied the staff, The Times reported on Wednesday. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are where Markle and Harry lived with his older brother Prince William and his wife Kate until 2019. In 2018, Harry, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson, tied the knot with Markle in a glittering wedding at Windsor Castle.
The former army officer’s marriage to the mixed-race former television actress was seen as breathing new life into the centuries-old British monarchy. However, Harry and Markle announced early last year that they were stepping back from their royal duties, partly because of what they saw as unfair media coverage. The couple then relocated to the United States, permanently quitting as working royals and being stripped of their honorary titles and patronages, as announced by Buckingham Palace last month.
Harry and Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey is due to be broadcast on Sunday. The couple is expected to spill the beans on life within the royal family following their fairytale wedding and the reasons for their split. Prince Philip, Harry’s grandfather and the queen’s husband, has been in the hospital for several weeks under treatment for an undisclosed infection, sparking fears for his health.
On Monday the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, was transferred to a specialist cardiac unit for tests on a pre-existing heart condition. Following their move to the United States, Harry and Markle have embarked on a number of commercial ventures such as partnering with streaming platforms Netflix and Spotify. The couple also took legal action against a couple of media publications, alleging invasion of privacy following what they described as intolerable media pressure in Britain.
Markle was awarded £450,000 (S$835,000) as interim payment of legal costs on Tuesday following a comprehensive victory in February against Associated Newspapers which published a private letter written by Markle to her father./TISG