A royal expert said today that Buckingham Palace’s decision not to release the explosive probe into charges of bullying by Meghan Markle is a “olive branch” to the Sussexes.
The royal family may be hoping that the pair will “receive in kind” in regards to Harry’s planned memoirs and rumours of another meeting with Oprah Winfrey, according to commentator and author Richard Fitzwilliams.
In light of the investigation, the Queen’s aides today revealed that Buckingham Palace had “updated” its HR procedures.
However, they refused to make the full report public because, according to a royal insider, “the household seems to be scared of upsetting or irritating Harry and Meghan.”
According to Mr. Fitzwilliams, making the findings public would have exacerbated the already tense relationships between the London and LA houses and even prompted legal action.
He claimed: “The Palace has simply shut it down in light of the likelihood of a biography by Harry later this year and who knows what else if the Sussexes, as aspiring philanthropists, were angered. Clearly, this is a hand extended to the Sussexes as well.
Additionally, he said: “This is not a monument to transparency and individuals involved may likely feel badly done by, especially considering the charges that Meghan mistreated workers” amid fears it will create pain for the staffers who said they were tormented.
Following shocking charges that surfaced 15 months ago as a result of staff complaints during a “toxic period” before the couple emigrated in early 2020, the Queen announced the investigation last year.
Royal aides who were “broken” described being embarrassed, “sick,” “terrified,” left “shaking” with anxiety, and brought to tears.
Meghan was charged with “driving them out” and “emotional brutality” towards her workers.
The Sussexes were dubbed “outrageous bullies” by one.
The palace employees who came out last year told The Times that there had been a long list of alleged instances of “emotional maltreatment.”
The Sussexes’ attorneys adamantly denied that their clients intimidated or otherwise mistreated employees between late 2018 and early 2020.
In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was made public hours after the claims surfaced in March 2021, Meghan and Harry then accused the Royal Family of “perpetuating falsehoods” about them and each other.
A third-party legal company conducted interviews with several of those staff members who worked for the Sussexes as part of the investigation.
Today, however, palace representatives would only acknowledge that their investigation had come to a conclusion and that “recommendations on our policy and procedures” had been implemented.
Additionally, amid the investigation’s secrecy, it is claimed that people who participated in the inquiry have not been informed of the investigation’s conclusion.
According to reports, Meghan and Harry were not questioned regarding the accusations.
People believed it would be buried, and it appears that it has, according to one source.
It is incomprehensible that people who took part did so at significant personal and professional risk to themselves, and that they haven’t even been informed of the results.
They will be really upset, but considering how things have been handled, they might not be too surprised.
Harry and Meghan seem to be the focus of the family’s fear of offending or provoking them.
What was the point? asked another source who was critical of the investigation and the decision not to publicize.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the Sussexes declined to do so.
They also refused to address accusations that the couple’s attorneys had communicated with the palace at all stages of the procedure.
Because some of the aides at the center of the argument were shared by the Sussexes and the Cambridges, it is also unknown if Harry’s brother William and his wife Kate were invited to testify.
An investigation into allegations that Meghan’s “belittling” behavior while a member of the Royal Family drove two female personal assistants out of the home and “undermined the trust” of a third was disclosed by royal aides in March of last year.
Some staff members compared their state to post-traumatic stress disorder, saying they had been left in tears and felt “traumatized.”
Some people feared that the Royal Household’s decision to hire a private, third-party law company to investigate the charges might exacerbate tensions between Harry and Meghan and “the institution.”
The duchess has consistently vehemently denied the accusations, which were initially referred to as a “planned smear campaign” by her legal team. Yesterday, pleas for comment were not answered.
The specifics of the claims, which were brought to the attention of senior household workers at the time by Harry and Meghan’s worried press secretary, Jason Knauf, were not going to be looked into, a palace spokeswoman made clear last year.
However, they declared that they would look into the authorities’ handling of the “past charges of bullying” and see whether any adjustments to their HR policies and processes were necessary as a result.
According to a spokesman, this year’s Sovereign Grant report, which is the official yearly examination of the Queen’s public finances and the management of her household, would include such conclusions “if” they were to be made public.
Her Master of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, however, said of the investigation when he announced the report yesterday: “There is nothing on this in the report.” As we stated the previous year, this work was done on a private basis without the use of Sovereign Grant funds.
“The review is over, and we’ve moved forward with the suggestions for our (HR) policies and practices.” However, we won’t be making any further comments.
The Mail has learned that despite the study was completed several months ago, the small group of former royal staff members who were allowed to participate were only just made aware of its conclusion.
Just before her dramatic Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry at the beginning of last year, reports concerning Meghan’s alleged bullying of staff members surfaced.
The Palace committed to look into the charges and stated that it takes them seriously.
However, the Mail reported last year that only a few current and former royal personnel had been contacted, and that the staff believed the issue had already been “kicked into the long grass.”
Two of Meghan’s former personal assistants, a senior female employee, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who was Prince William’s private secretary at the time, were among those questioned.
A top royal adviser responded yesterday when asked why the report on alleged bullying hadn’t even been privately distributed: “One has to recognize HR concerns involving individuals are private and those individuals who participated in the review… have a right to that secrecy.”
“Where policies and processes needed to be improved, such changes have been put into place.”
Additionally, the review’s conclusion and recommendations were communicated to individuals who took part in it.
Because of the confidentiality of the discussions, we have not communicated the detailed recommendations.’