Meghan Markle bullying accusations ‘are not surprising’ – you could see ‘narcissism’ during Oprah interview, expert says
MEGHAN Markle’s bullying accusations “are not surprising” and you could see her “narcissism” during the Oprah Winfrey interview, a royal expert has declared.
The Duchess of Sussex was last night accused by former employees of treating staff like “s***” while a member of the Royal Family.
An ex-courtier alleged that during their time with her “there definitely were bad, very bad, even psycho moments.”
The unnamed source told The Sunday Times: “I witnessed people being chewed up in person and over the phone and made to feel like s***.
“It was an incredibly fraught time and I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. She has said herself she was suicidal at times.”
Reacting to the allegations, celebrated historian Hugo Vickers told The Sun he “wasn’t surprised”.
He said: “Well I’m afraid I’m not surprised by these allegations because even when she was at Windsor I remember hearing from very good sources that there was trouble.
“There was a time when she was very rude to one of the under gardeners at Windsor when they were at Frogmore Cottage.
“The head gardener went to complain to the Queen and she told her off because she obviously didn’t like people being rude to staff.
“None of these other stories surprised me. She probably is not very good with staff or people that she’s employing. It’s just very unattractive.
“You should always be very polite to people who work for you because otherwise they’re going to get very put out.”
Another individual, who worked with Meghan in the run-up to her wedding, said she was a “classic narcissist”.
They added: “She is lovely when it is all going her way but a demon when the worm turns.”
The royal expert continued: “I think quite a lot of actresses have a narcissistic side to them.
“Of course it can be very stressful leading up to a wedding. But once again this is when your true character comes out.
“We can all be very polite when things are going well. It’s when we’re under stress that that you see people getting annoyed and aggressive.
Meg is 'dictator in heels who terrifies everyone'
BY Matt Wilkinson
A STAFFER working “high up” for the Sussexes was the source behind the shock claim that “everyone is terrified” of Meghan, it has emerged.
The allegations were made in The Hollywood Reporter that also said Meg is branded by staff as “Duchess Difficult” and a “dictator in high heels”.
It comes after a string of aides left Archewell including Chief of Staff Josh Kettler who stepped down after just three months.
Sources close to Meghan and Harry claim the comments reported by the Hollywood Reporter were “fabricated”.
But Maer Roshan, Co-Editor in Chief of the magazine, said: “Our reporter talked to I think a dozen people, most of them are people who work very closely with the couple in various capacities now and previously.
He added: “Our reporter talked to a very high up source who works for the couple who said: ‘Everyone is terrified of Meghan Markle’.”
The revelation that a source from within the Sussexes organisation and Archewell will stun Harry and Meghan.
An astonishing 18 members of staff have quit working for the couple – nine since they moved to California.
Many ex-palace staff coined the term ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’ to describe themselves after they quit working for Harry and Meghan.
Some even, half-jokingly, believed they suffered a form of post-traumatic stress after working for the royal couple.
Sources close to the Sussexes insist the term “Duchess Difficult” has never been used to describe Meghan.
A source from Archewell, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “These quotes were fabricated by someone lacking knowledge of our company.
“The Duke and Duchess work from Montecito, and we’re based in Hollywood.
“They likely think we’re all in the same office and that this quote would fly, but the circumstances don’t even allow for it.
“If she’s ‘marching around’ and ‘barking orders’ no Archewell employee could factually claim that. It’s total nonsense.”
The publication also reported allegations that Meghan was “absolutely relentless” and that “she marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders”.
Meghan’s “noisy tantrums” and “angry 5am emails” are said to be what earned her the nickname.
Regarding emails, a source said: “Who hasn’t sent an email when they can’t sleep or are awake early?
“I’ve never once ever gotten an email from either of them at that hour and even if I did, The Duchess specifically notes in her email signature that everyone has a different working day and to not feel obligated to respond outside of normal business hours.
“These source quotes don’t make any sense.”
The latest shock claims come some six years after Buckingham Palace was forced to investigate Meghan for “bullying behaviour” towards to royal aides.
Meghan has always denied claims that she bullies staff.
“She has shown quite a few narcissistic tendencies in the past particularly in things like the Oprah Winfrey interview.
“I think there was a lot of narcissism in that.”
During the March 2021 interview, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a series of shocking allegations.
The pair sparked a race row by alleging an unnamed member of the Royal Family spoke about “how dark his (Archie‘s) skin might be when he’s born”.
During the Oprah interview, Meghan also said she was prevented from seeking mental health support when she was in crisis.
It’s understood the Royal Family were left deeply upset by the allegations made.
The Sun has approached the Sussexes for comment.
It comes after a recent story in The Hollywood Reporter described Meghan’s management style as like a “dictator in high heels” who reduced “grown men to tears”.
In an extraordinary move to undermine the story this week, five current and former employees of Meghan, 43, went on the record to defend her saying she is the “best boss ever”.
Us Weekly, a magazine known to be friendly to the royal couple, went in to bat for them with an article headlined “What It’s Really Like To Work For Meghan Markle: Staffers Reveal Truth Behind Rumours”.
The article quoted the former employees stating how, in fact, Meghan was a caring and considerate boss.
It included claims she gives staff bundles of freshly cut flowers, home-produced eggs and makes her team “feel like seeds being watered”.
The article was widely dismissed as a puff piece with speculation it was potentially orchestrated by Meghan’s PR team.
Meghan and Harry, 40, are understood to be furious about The Hollywood Reporter’s claims.
They are said to be desperate to stem the tide of negative publicity they are facing on the other side of the Atlantic.
In public the former Suits actress presents as happy and thoughtful.
But The Hollywood Reporter’s claims that she “barks” out orders and sends angry emails at 5am eats away at that image.
An insider told The Sun: “The Sussexes were left reeling by The Hollywood Reporter’s story.
“It appears that the Us Weekly story was sanctioned by the couple as even Archewell’s current global head of communications, Ashley Hansen, was quoted by name.”
Sussex staff resignations
By Robert Jobson
AN astonishing 18 members of staff have quit working for them in just a few years — nine since they moved to Montecito, California.
In late 2018, Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Toubati quit.
It also emerged senior communications secretary Katrina McKeever left the Press team the same month.
Not long after, private secretary Samantha Cohen resigned.
In January 2019 Meghan’s female bodyguard of six months, who has never been named for security reasons, also quit.
By March, senior communications secretary Jason Knauf jumped ship and went to work for Prince William and Kate’s Royal Foundation.
Meghan also went through three nannies in just six weeks after baby son Archie was born in May 2019.
Harry and Meghan’s PR chief Sarah Latham left the couple after they quit the UK in 2020.
Meghan parted ways with talent agent Nick Collins, of The Gersh Agency, who was with her since she was a struggling actress.
And her close friend Keleigh Thomas-Morgan, a partner at Hollywood PR firm Sunshine Sachs, split from Meghan after the couple moved to the US.
The Sussexes recruited Toya Holness, former communications chief for New York City Department of Education, but she lasted 18 months and left shortly after the Invictus Games in 2022.
Just a year after their Megxit dash, Catherine St-Laurent was ousted as chief executive of their charitable foundation Archewell.
Meanwhile, Mandana Dayani, who was made president of Archewell, stepped down after less than 18 months in her role.
Oscar-nominated film producer Ben Browning was named head of content at Archewell in March 2021.
The foundation was supposed to be producing documentaries and podcasts.
But podcast Archetypes was dropped by Spotify and he left in January 2023.
Two months earlier, Rebecca Sanares left her role as head of audio at Archewell.