A new book claims that royal aides who accused Meghan Markle of being a “bully” rescinded the complaint.
In a paperback edition of the book “Finding Freedom” by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, sources allege that two of the staffers cited in the original complaint asked to withdraw the allegations.
The Times reported in March that a former adviser for the Duchess of Sussex filed a bullying complaint against her when she and her husband, Prince Harry. The couple were still living at Kensington Palace at the time.
The sources claimed that her bullying drove two personal assistants to depart from the household and undermined the confidence of a third staff member — sparking a maelstrom in the British media.
In an interview, Prince Harry spoke on the matter. He said that “because of the headlines and that combined effort of the firm and the media to smear her, I was woken in the middle of the night to [Meghan] crying in her pillow because she doesn’t want to wake me up — because I’m already carrying too much.”
At the time, the claims were dismissed by Meghan and Harry’s team.
“Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” their spokesperson said. “We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”
The claims came just ahead of their CBS interview with Winfrey.
The couple questioned the timing.
“It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years,” a statement from their camp read.
The complaints may have been rescinded — but will they now offer Markle a public apology after vilifying her in the media? It’s unlikely.
