Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Fight Back! Royals Reportedly Have '30-Page Dossier' Challenging Bullying Claims Against Duchess
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not backing down from fighting against the bullying claims lodged against the Duchess of Sussex by her former royal aides.
According to royal historian Robert Lacey, the couple assembled a 30-page dossier to refute the allegations while the investigation into the claims is reportedly still ongoing. Lacey, author of Battle of Brothers: William and Harry — The Inside Story of a Family Tumult, claimed the couple explained why they split from former staffers in their lengthy rebuttal document.
"Harry and Meghan, I am told, have drawn up a 30-page dossier in justification of their treatment of staff, setting out precise details of why they parted company with certain personnel," he shared, adding: "These are murky waters, and who can tell what resolution may be achieved?"
The bombshell claim that Meghan bullied her royal staff while at Kensington Palace made headlines days before her and Harry's jaw-dropping March interview with Oprah Winfrey aired. At the time, U.K. newspaper The Times reported claims made by Harry and Meghan's former communications secretary, Jason Knauf.
Knauf reportedly filed a complaint against the duchess in October 2018, alleging that the new mother-of-two — who welcomed daughter Lilibet Diana on Friday, June 4 — "drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member."
In an email to Prince William's private secretary, obtained by the outlet, Knauf claimed Meghan seemed "intent" on "always having someone in her sights," referring to Meghan's alleged treatment towards her royal aides.
However, OK! recently reported that Meghan simply felt that "the staff were not up to their job and could not deal with the pressure of working for her and understanding how she wanted things to run."
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Following the accusations, Buckingham Palace released a statement, insisting they were "clearly very concerned." Shortly after, the Palace brought in an independent third-party to investigate the claims against the 39-year-old — the law firm was reportedly brought in after the Oprah interview aired.
And according to Lacey's book, the bullying claims were at the heart of Harry and William's rift. An apparent pal of the 39-year-old claimed William wanted to split his and Harry's joint household at Kensington Palace following the staffers' upset with the Suits alum — who stepped back from her senior royal duties with her husband last March.
"William, for his part, felt just as strongly about Meghan and the need for her subversive 'agenda' to be removed from the operations of the British monarchy, which she did not appear to understand or respect," Lacey claimed in his book of William's thoughts on Meghan.
Harry and Meghan created a new private office at Buckingham Palace following the official March 2019 announcement of the decision to split the household. Lacey explained that the father-of-three "simply did not want her or Harry around any more." According to the author, William "certainly wanted Meghan removed" from the household "he and his brother had operated together for the best part of a decade."
It appears that there was a lot going on behind palace walls at the time, since Meghan claimed she was experiencing “very clear and very scary” suicidal thoughts two months before the household was split.
During the couple's sit-down with the talk show titan, OK! reported, the brunette beauty said she asked The Firm for help with her mental health struggles, but they allegedly told her "that it wouldn’t be good for the institution."
The findings from the investigation into the bullying claims were expected to be revealed this month; however, The Times London reported the verdict could be delayed until 2022, as the investigation is "ongoing."
Daily Mail reported on Lacey's claim of the couple's 30-page rebuttal.