Breaking News: Prince Harry’s version of Meghan Markle bullying claims and who he really blames……See More

Since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex quit life as a working royal, allegations and rumours that she isn’t the easiest person to work with have continued to abound – but Prince Harry has a totally different take

Rumours that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex can be a difficult boss have plagued her since she was a working royal.

And in a scathing new report by Vanity Fair, staff members who worked with her at Spotify have added their voices, claiming they found their time with the Duchess to be challenging. Meghan has strongly denied claims that she “bullied” her staff members, pushing back on what her spokesperson previously called a ‘calculated smear campaign’.

Equally, there have been many other former staff members who have come forward to publicly disagree with these assessments, insisting they found her to be a great boss.

Prince Harry, Meghan’s husband, also opened up about his view on the way Meghan dealt with her staff in his memoir Spare, and while he has not spoken publicly about the new allegations that have surfaced, it’s clear that he has a different take on why emotions often ran high in the royal offices.

The first allegations that Meghan had “bullied” two royal aides emerged in 2021 – around the time of the couple’s bombshell sit-down with Oprah Winfrey where they explained the reasons behind their shock exit from the UK. The incidents are reported to have occurred as early as 2018, with two PAs leaving their roles in the royal household quickly after the couple’s fairytale royal wedding in Windsor.

The Times reported in 2021 that Jason Knauff, former communication secretary for the couple, made a complaint about what he perceived to be “bullying” behaviour from Meghan towards royal staff, writing to Prince William’s private secretary about his worries on the matter: “I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights”.

The newspaper also quoted multiple sources that used the term “bullies” to describe Meghan and Harry, with one claiming that another member of the team was left “completely destroyed”, and another alleging they were “humiliated” by the Duchess while others were apparently left in tears. In her defence, Meghan is said to have stated that it was not her “job to coddle people”.

Jason Knauff left his position shortly after making the complaint, but by Harry’s own admission, there were tears and incredibly high tensions amongst the staff that year. However, he made it clear in Spare that in his view, none of the blame for that lay at Meghan’s door.

Instead, Harry wrote that it was the growing tension between himself, Meghan, his elder brother Prince William, and sister-in-law Kate – alongside the huge demands the press team was facing without enough staff to meet them – that was to blame for the “poisoned atmosphere” in the office.

“There was frequent bickering around the office,” Harry wrote, “Sides were taken. Team Cambridge versus Team Sussex. Rivalry, jealousy, competing agendas, it all poisoned the atmosphere.

“It didn’t help that everyone was working around the clock. There were so many demands from the press, such a constant stream of errors that needed clearing up, and we didn’t have nearly enough people or resources. At best we were able to address 10 percent of what was out there.”