Meghan ‘bullying’ investigation buried: Findings of Palace investigation into claims will never be made public

Buckingham Palace A report into allegations of bullying has been effectively suppressed by Duchess of Sussex,

Royal aides admitted for the first time yesterday that the findings would never be made public.

A source said last night: ‘People suspected it would be buried, and now it looks like it is.’

The Daily Mail understands that even those participating in the inquiry have not been told what the outcome is.

Palace officials will only confirm that their investigation has concluded and ‘recommendations on our policy and procedures’ have been put forward.

Royal aides announced in March last year that they were launching an investigation into claims that Meghan’s ‘abusive’ behavior while a working member of the royal family kicked two female personal assistants out of the house and a third’s ‘confidence’ reduced’.

The employees are said to have been in tears and feeling ‘painful’ – with some comparing their condition to post-traumatic stress.

The Royal House hired a third-party law firm, paid for privately by the family, to investigate claims in a move that some predictions could increase tensions between Harry and Meghan and the ‘entity’ .

The allegations have always been strongly denied by the Duchess, whose lawyers at the time described them as a ‘math smear campaign’. He did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Last year a palace spokesman clarified that the specifics of the allegations – which were brought to the attention of senior domestic staff by Harry and Meghan’s respective press secretary at the time, Jason Knauf – would not be investigated.

But he said he would investigate how “historic allegations of bullying” were handled by the authorities and whether any changes should be made to their human resources policies and procedures as a result.

A spokeswoman confirmed that “if” those findings were to be made public, they would be included in this year’s Sovereign Grants Report – the official annual review of the Queen’s public finances and her household run.

But in announcing the report yesterday, his Master of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said of the investigation: ‘There is nothing on this in the report. As we said last year, this work was done privately and no sovereign grant money was spent on it.

“The review has been completed and the recommendations on our (HR) policy and procedures have been put forward.” But we will not comment further.

The Mail understands that although the review ended several months ago, a small handful of former royal staffers who were invited to attend were recently revealed to have been injured.

And they will not be told what its findings are, or what changes have been made to human resource processes as a result.

A source with knowledge of the process said, “Given that those who participated did so at great personal and reputational risk to themselves, the fact that they were not even told what the findings were, is immeasurable.” “

‘I’m sure they’ll be very distressed, but probably not completely surprised by how things have been handled. It seems the family is afraid to harass or provoke Harry and Meghan.’

The issue was raised during a briefing about sovereign grants that showed:

• The Queen’s annual spending rose 17 percent to £102.4 million during 2021/22, forcing officials to dip into savings;
• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now ‘financially independent’, royal sources say it was ‘great credit to them’;
• Sources said Prince Charles would never accept suitcases full of cash again after a dispute over charity donations;
• The most expensive royal visit last year was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s flight to the Caribbean, costing £226,000;
• Officials insisted they would keep the royal train, despite it being used only six times last year at an average cost of £34,307;
• Maintenance of the property increased from £14.4 million to £63.9 million, as the ten-year project to renovate Buckingham Palace reached a critical stage.

Reports of Meghan allegedly bullying staff came just ahead of Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with Prince Harry earlier last year. The Palace said it took such claims seriously and vowed to investigate.

Last year, however, the Mail established that only a small number of royal staff – both past and present – had been spoken to and staff fear it was already being ‘kicked in the tall grass’. Interviewees included two of Meghan’s former personal assistants, another senior female member of staff, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who was acting as Prince William’s private secretary at the time.

Asked why the alleged bullying report was not privately circulated, a senior royal aide claimed yesterday: ‘HR matters involving individuals have to be identified and the individuals who participated in the review … that Right to privacy.

Where policies and procedures needed to be reformed, they have been implemented. And the participants in the review are notified that the review is concluded and includes recommendations. Due to confidentiality of discussions, we have not communicated detailed recommendations.’

The Palace Prioritizes Peace, Whatever the Cost of Their Staff

Analysis by Rebecca English royal editor

Allegations that the Duchess of Sussex systematically targeted and bullied female staff have been deeply upsetting – and problematic – to the Royal Family since they circulated early last year.

It was the first time a member of the royal family had made a formal complaint to senior management about his alleged behavior – and there was no formal human resources policy in place to deal with it.

The fact that the allegations were first made without action three years ago appears to have uncomfortably increased the depth of the Palace’s paralysis on the issue.

The relationship between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family added to the fragility of the situation.

In the wake of their acrimonious departure in the form of working royals and explosive Oprah Winfrey interviews, palace officials were unable to predict how this most defensive of couples would react. That’s why he decided to focus his inquiry on how the allegations against Meghan were handled, as opposed to the substance of the claims, whose truth or falsity has not been objectively established.

It seemed a neat solution and one that was specifically designed to prevent the Duchess and her legal team from having any say in what was being treated as a purely procedural matter.

Now officials have confirmed what the Daily Mail suggested in December last year – that their full review is being buried, never to be made public.

And as I reveal today, even the handful of staff that were consulted during this process have not been told what Palace plans to do in the future to speed up their processes. Used to be.

Senior palace officials such as the Queen’s private secretary, Sir Edward Young – who I am told by many sources were also often on the receiving end of the Sussexes’ worst wrath – wanted to do the right thing, but clearly prioritized peace. Here’s on their workforce with Harry and Meghan.

This has prompted some in the household to ask the question: is the treatment and safety of your employees really considered less important than offending the Sussexes?

For many people the answer is clearly ‘yes’.