Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have rejected claims about their alleged mistreatment of staff, which were reported by Vanity Fair, as ‘upsetting’, as reported recently.
The critical article in the magazine, titled ‘American Hustle’, alleged that the Duchess of Sussex could display a ‘really, really awful’ attitude when circumstances did not meet her expectations.
Based on insights from various sources who have been employed by the Sussexes since their departure from the UK five years ago, Meghan was described as initially being ‘positive and warm’ towards staff but would later become ‘distant and unreceptive’ to the individual she believed was at fault when issues arose.
Things ‘went poorly, often due to Meghan and Harry’s own demands’, one insider claimed.
But their marriage is rock solid, a source has said, declaring ‘their love is real’ and they are still ‘hot for each other’.
According to The Times, the couple have dismissed the allegations with sources close to the Sussexes describing them as ‘distressing’. And an insider told The Daily Beast that with Meghan’s new Netflix show postponed and Harry in the UK for a tricky court case: ‘Things aren’t easy for them right now. Vanity Fair have succeeded in making a bad time worse’.
It came as comments from Sharon Stone defending them resurfaced in Hello Magazine, one of the couple’s favoured publications. Sharon said they are great neighbours who are the kind of people who wave to you in the street.
She said in 2020: ‘The thing about them, which is so great, is that they didn’t come here to live off of our community, they came here to be a part of our community.
‘They’re a part of our community, they become a part, a giving, caring, participating part of our community. They’re not here, like “Would you like to kiss my butt?”.’
Vanity Fair portrayed Prince Harry as a hapless if well-meaning man who came up with ‘crazy’ ideas such as a ‘sociopath podcast’ which would involve him interviewing people such as Russian president Vladimir Putin.
According to magazine, the duke said: ‘I have very bad childhood trauma. Obviously. My mother was essentially murdered. What is it about me that didn’t make me one of the bad guys?’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have allegedly dismissed allegations against them in a Vanity Fair article
Sharon Stone said in 2020 that the Sussexes are a ‘giving, caring, participating part of our community’
The profile details allegations from former employees of Meghan who reportedly felt mistreated during their time working with her
The damning profile in Vanity Fair stated that the Duchess of Sussex would reportedly be ‘warm and effusive’ towards employees at the start before turning ‘cold and withholding toward the person she perceived to be responsible’ when something ‘went poorly
Meghan, 43, is portrayed as a ruthless, demanding boss. One source said she could not at first believe the bullying claims but, having worked for the duchess, changed her mind saying: ‘Oh, any given Tuesday this happened.
‘You can be yelled at even if somebody doesn’t raise their voice. [It’s] funny that people don’t differentiate between the energy of being yelled at and literally somebody screaming at you.’
Referring to a film comedy about High School cliques and bullying, some staff dubbed the duchess ‘a Mean Girls teenager’ and called working on Meghan’s Archetypes podcast ‘really, really awful’ and ‘very painful’.
The source alleged: ‘Because she’s constantly playing checkers, I’m not even going to say chess, she’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board.
‘And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment.’
According to two other sources, a colleague with ties to the podcast took a leave of absence after working on just three episodes and then quit. Others described ‘taking extended breaks from work to escape scrutiny, exiting their job, or undergoing long-term therapy after working with Meghan’, who was allegedly dubbed ‘Duchess Difficult’ by some staff.
One stated: ‘I think if Meghan acknowledged her own shortcomings or personal contributions to situations, rather than staying trapped in a victim narrative, her perception might be better.’
The duchess was accused of bullying staff during her time at Buckingham Palace but the results of an internal inquiry have never been released and she has always vehemently denied the claims.
A resident of Montecito, the California town where the Sussexes live, described the couple as ‘the most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet’.
They added that while the Sussexes claimed they left England to avoid media scrutiny, they appear to constantly court media attention. A former worker for the Spotify streaming giant described Prince Harry, 40, as ‘challenging to engage with’.
They added that while the couple were interviewing someone for a job, Harry gave off an air of ‘why should I do this?’ The Spotify deal ended in 2023.
The Sussexes declined to cooperate with the Vanity Fair piece and have refused to comment on it.
Elsewhere, the profile details allegations from former employees of Meghan who reportedly felt mistreated during their time working with her.
These claims, which echo accusations from her time at Kensington Palace, paint a troubling picture of a woman whose behaviour allegedly left staff ‘having therapy’ and led to allegations of ‘bullying’ behind the scenes. These allegations were vehemently denied by representatives of Meghan and Harry at the time.
Producer Jane Marie, worked with the couple during development of Archewell audio projects, also insisted to Vanity Fair that Meghan is ‘just a lovely, genuine person’.
Despite the bombshell allegations made in the profile, staff loyal to Meghan and Harry have previously defended the couple to US Weekly magazine, describing the Sussexes as ‘caring’ bosses who give employees their children’s old baby clothes, fresh flowers and ‘care packages’.
Josh Kettler, Harry’s chief of staff who left after just three months in August last year, insisted he was ‘warmly welcomed’ by the pair and describes them as ‘dedicated and hardworking’.
Ben Browning, Archewell’s former head of content – who was responsible for their tell-all Netflix documentary but then left before the end of his contract- says his experience at the company and with Meghan and Harry in general ‘was positive and supportive’
Their PR chief, ‘global press secretary’ Ashley Hansen, who is leaving the company to start her own firm, says they treated her with ‘the kind of concern and care a parent would express if it were their own child’ when she took time off for surgery, adding that they also sent flowers and gifts.
These positive comments came off the back of a negative piece published in the Hollywood Reporter, in which Meghan was described as a ‘dictator in high heels’.
Tom Bower, the royal author and investigative journalist, described the recent revelations as ‘devastating’ for Meghan, especially given her recent attempts to reshape her public persona as a warm, loving mother and wife.
‘Having strongly denied the accusations that she bullied her staff in Kensington Palace, the revival of her image of the Difficult Duchess is a disaster just on the eve of the launch of Netflix‘s ‘With Love, Meghan’.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have famously worked on many different projects over the years, from Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare to Meghan’s podcast Archetypes
The Duchess of Sussex decided to postpone the release of her Netflix cookery show With Love, Meghan, because of the destruction brought about by the fires
‘Having invested so much to re-brand herself as a loving, caring Californian mother and wife, the VF disclosures have poisoned the smiling image of the welcoming home-maker.
Prince Harry, too, faces growing scrutiny, with experts noting his portrayal in the Vanity Fair piece as ‘lost, out of his depth, and naïve.’
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, said the couple’s attempts to project a caring, philanthropic image through efforts like helping victims of California’s wildfires are unlikely to gain traction in light of the ongoing allegations.
‘The Sussexes are attempting to project a caring image by helping some of those affected by the cataclysmic wildfires currently ravaging California’, he said. ‘They won’t get far after publicity is given to this.
‘Her With Love, Meghan cookery series is, judging from the trailer, saccharine and silly. This was postponed and is now scheduled for a release on 4th March but unenthusiastic online reaction might make the streaming giant think twice and dump it and, when their contract runs out later in the year, preserve very little of it, if any.
‘The Sussexes have made so many accusations against the royal family. They, especially Meghan, now have a lot to answer. Nobody likes bullies, especially entitled bullies!’
Meghan and Harry rallied around LA fire victims, having been on the cusp of evacuation themselves, by making donations to relief efforts through their Archewell Foundation and over the weekend served meals to survivors alongside the wife of embattled Governor Gavin Newsom.
However, not everyone was impressed by their appearance with Family Ties star Bateman writing online: ‘Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers.
Meghan and Harry rallied around LA fire victims, having been on the cusp of evacuation themselves
The pair opened the doors of their mansion to friends and loved ones forced to evacuate due to the ongoing fires in California and urged others to do the same as the blaze continued to tear through the West Coast city.
‘What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage’? Are they politicians now? They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.’
This came just days after they opened the doors of their mansion to friends and loved ones forced to evacuate due to the ongoing fires in California.
They also urged others to do the same as the blaze continued to tear through the West Coast city.
The Duchess of Sussex decided to postpone the release of her Netflix cookery show With Love, Meghan, because of the destruction brought about by the fires – a decision that was praised by her fans.
However, this led to some wry remarks from those connected to the Royal Family, Richard Eden disclosed.
One friend of the royals pointed out to this week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allowed their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast in 2021 even though Prince Philip was seriously ill in hospital.
Prince Harry’s grandfather died four weeks later.
‘Meghan seemingly didn’t think twice about going ahead with the Oprah interview, did she?’ commented the royal source.
Some courtiers are even wondering whether the postponement of her cookery programme is a commercial one.
‘Would people really want to watch a glossy TV show about someone’s luxury lifestyle when thousands of Americans have seen their homes and lives destroyed?’ one figure with connections to the royals asked Eden this week.
