London: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have accused royal aides of a “calculated smear campaign” after it was revealed a bullying complaint was lodged against the Duchess of Sussex by one of her most senior advisers.
In an extraordinary outbreak of hostilities triggered by an upcoming tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, former Kensington Palace aides have approached The Times newspaper with a series of allegations about the months after the couple married in May 2018.
The Times reported that Jason Knauf, Harry and Meghan’s well-regarded communication chief in that period, sent an email in October 2018 to Simon Case, the then-private secretary to Prince William, outlining a range of “very serious” concerns about how staff were being treated inside the London home shared by both couples.
Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. Credit:Harpo Productions via AP
The newspaper said Knauf sent the complaint after discussing the issues with human resources chief Samantha Carruthers.
He said in the email: “I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two [personal assistants] out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X was totally unacceptable.”
The Times used letters to protect the identity of the staff.
The email continued: “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 complaint did not progress, according to The Times. Its story quoted a number of anonymous staff alleging the priority was to make the complaint go away rather than deal with it.
Knauf, who once worked for former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, left Kensington Palace shortly after and now runs Prince William’s charitable foundation.
The Times said it was approached by sources who felt that only a partial version had emerged of Meghan’s time as a working member of the royal family.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan linked the revelations to growing tensions over their interview with Winfrey due to air in the United States on Sunday night.
“Let’s just call this what it is – a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” the spokesperson said.
“We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of the Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.
“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.
“The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.
“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 and doing what is good.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared Kensington Palace in 2018 before the royal households split. Credit:AP
The couple’s lawyers also hit out at “spurious allegations” included in The Times′ story over a pair of earrings Meghan wore during a formal dinner in Fiji days after an earlier tour of Australia.
The Times revealed the earrings were a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and that she chose to wear them three weeks after the grisly murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the official dinner in Suva, Fiji, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018Credit:Daily Mirror Pool
A declassified US intelligence document released this week concluded the Crown Prince likely approved the assassination.
The Times claimed Meghan told aides the earrings were borrowed, which was also reported at the time.
The newspaper said lawyers for Meghan did not deny that she may have said the earrings were borrowed but denied that she had misled anyone about where they came from.
The Times is one of Britain’s most respected newspapers. Its story about the bullying allegations is splashed across the front page of its Tuesday edition and is accompanied by a 1500-word feature.
The revelations will cause a sensation in Britain before Sunday’s interview (Monday AEDT).
Meghan was on Wednesday awarded £450,000 ($800,000) as a provisional payment towards her legal costs after she won a privacy claim against the Mail on Sunday, which had printed extracts of a letter she wrote to her father.
Last month, a judge at London’s High Court ruled the tabloid had breached her privacy and infringed her copyright by publishing parts of the five-page letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, who she fell out with on the eve of her wedding to Prince Harry.
What in the World
Bevan Shields is the Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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2021-03-02 23:51:15Z
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