Prince William ‘accelerated’ the Sussexes’ office split because of Meg’s ‘bullying’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrate Anzac Day in London

There are so many non sequiturs in the Times of London articles, which are part of the New Smear Campaign™ against the Duchess of Sussex. The first article was practically spastic, with random, vague complaints and oddly worded accusations interspersed throughout what was a four-page story. I’m trying to find some of the other stuff which is worth mentioning, but just an FYI: the point of these articles is not to give concrete stories about why Meghan said something specific, or to describe an incident in detail. We’re supposed to let the slimeing wash over us and come away with the impression that Meghan is, as always, terrible. And that she has never done anything correctly, because she’s mean, angry, Black and American. Here are some extra pieces of info:

Prince William “accelerated” the office split: Although Simon Case had no managerial responsibility for the staff mentioned in Knauf’s complaint, he is understood to have taken it seriously. He made sure it was sent to HR, and took a close interest in the welfare of the staff member still employed there.The issue of staff — their treatment, and the fact that they were shared between William and Harry — became so pressing that William and Case accelerated the process of splitting the two households. “What was a long-term plan became an immediate plan,” a source said

Meghan “drove out” two personal assistants? Staff were bullied, according to sources, and some reduced to tears. One said they were humiliated by her on a number of occasions. According to the complaint revealed by The Times today, two PAs were driven from the household. The first sign that anything might be amiss came when a story appeared in a diary column in a national newspaper saying that Meghan’s personal assistant had left six months after the royal wedding. A week later the assistant was named in another paper as Melissa Touabti. “Meghan put a lot of demands on her and it ended up with her in tears,” a source was reported as saying. Touabti was not the first member of staff to leave. Before her there was another PA, a young woman already employed by the palace. She did not stay long after Meghan arrived.

Meghan doesn’t coddle people: In late 2017, after Harry and Meghan’s engagement was announced, a senior aide spoke to the couple about the difficulties caused by their treatment of staff. People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards, they were told. Meghan is said to have replied: “It’s not my job to coddle people.”

Meghan was “sharp”: However, The Times has spoken to insiders who have argued that it was about more than just American straight-talking. The duchess could be sharp with those she felt were letting her down, sources claim. One former staff member said: “I had unpleasant experiences with her. I would definitely say humiliated.” After Jason Knauf, the couple’s communications secretary, made his bullying complaint, another member of staff was worried about spending time with her the next day because she feared that Meghan was about to find out. “This is why I feel sick,” they said. Another time there was a row about whether Meghan had been told that the media would be present at an event. When she rang the aide, they rang back but she did not pick up. “I feel terrified,” the source said. “I can’t stop shaking.”

The Sussexes bullied their private secretary? The harsh treatment was not confined to junior staff. One source claimed that Samantha Cohen, the couple’s private secretary, had been bullied. Another said: “They treated her terribly. Nothing was ever good enough. It was, ‘She doesn’t understand, she’s failing.’” In fact, the source said, Cohen was “a saint” and the best organiser of royal tours they had known. Lawyers for the duke and duchess said they remained close to Cohen and grateful for her support and dedication, acknowledging that she had come out of retirement to work closely with them at a busy time. They deny bullying her.

[From The Times of London]

This passage is so g–ddamn telling: “People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards, they were told. Meghan is said to have replied: ‘It’s not my job to coddle people.’” As we’ve seen time and time again, it’s amateur hour over there at Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace. These people are not prepared to work. It’s that simple. When Meghan actually expected full-time aides to, you know, perform their jobs, we get a mass exodus of lazy dumbasses complaining about being “bullied.” My God.

As for William wanting credit for being in the loop about Meghan “bullying” people and Jason Knauf’s HR complaint… that’s what so much of this is about, and that’s the sourcing for these Times stories. It’s really something that Kensington Palace authorized Jason Knauf to give internal palace HR complaints and internal communications information FROM 2018 this week in a desperate, craven attempt to slime Meghan ahead of the Oprah interview. And all while poor Prince Philip is in the hospital too.

Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge at the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force, Buckingham Palace, London, UK on Tuesday 10th July 2018

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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193 Responses to “Prince William ‘accelerated’ the Sussexes’ office split because of Meg’s ‘bullying’”

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  1. Chica1971 says:

    They are SOO Afraid and have no idea or control. Kinda difficult to believe at this point. What happened to keep calm and do duty? It also proves Meghan right, doesn’t it? The anonymous crap that makes headlines but no one in authority able to execute like an executive and handle matters appropriately. This is a BP problem

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      “People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards, they were told. Meghan is said to have replied: “It’s not my job to coddle people.”
      When was this statement ever applied to Meghan? Unlike Kate who received ‘princess training’ and even had years to adapt, Meghan was never shown the same grace. Yet they expect her to put up with shoddy work and shoddy treatment from people who called her ‘degree wife’
      ‘me-gain’, ‘that girl’ and ‘the american’???

      • Julie says:

        I bet you this wasn’t about the staff being incompetent. After all how difficult can it be to make calls to get events coordinated for one of the most famous women on the planet? “. I’m calling on behalf of the duchess of Sussex”. There! Job done.

        I bet this has to do with being instructed from above that they were to sabotage her. No doubt the kinds of people who seek out jobs in the palace tend to be traditionalists and general Tory/Brexit types. So no doubt they had no love for an American woman of colour with liberal politics and a feminist mindset. But I don’t think that’s why they were sabotaging. I believe that they were instructed to slow down because heaven forbid that the future king and queen of England be overshadowed by the second son and his upstart wife. In the olden days Harry and Meghan would have been exiled. And in the days prior to that they would have been beheaded.

      • Amy Too says:

        Maybe the reason the staff were all shaking when they had to tell her things and crying about having to talk to her is because they had a guilty conscience. They’re dragging their feet, refusing to work, half-assing any work they do do, and then they have to go tell Meghan that No, they didn’t do this thing she asked, and no, this thing she asked to be ready today is actually not even started, etc. Lying, being purposefully insubordinate, being a jerk, or refusing to do work you could very easily do will probably make you feel sick and anxious. The only time I’ve ever felt physically sick and shaky around someone is when I know that I’ve behaved really poorly and am embarrassed/nervous to see what the consequences are.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        I found a comment on twitter that said that Knauf had created those complaints, and when staff found out about them they pulled them. So, this will not hold up at all. What in the heck are these people doing?

    • Tom says:

      Elvis had a big TCB ring. Taking Care of Business. American hustle, baby. It’s part of our culture.

      I am so proud of Meg and Harry right now.

      • Teacherpro says:

        The staff complainers probably felt guilty to face her because they were leaking falsehoods to the press about them on a regular basis

  2. Ronaldinho says:

    This is being sent to goad a legal response and to get a chance to drag her through the Press again

    • UptownGirl says:

      Yes, and how utterly vindictive, racist and bullying all of them look like as they show all of their cards!!

  3. Becks1 says:

    So Prince William wants credit for saving the poor downtrodden (white) KP staff from the mean black American duchess?

    This is disgusting and the royal family should be effing ashamed of itself.

    Again, there are no specifics here, but the line about “not performing to standards” is very telling, isnt it? Meghan wasnt supposed to tell people to do their freaking job. And thats really what it boils down to.

    • Mac says:

      I’ve seen this before. A new executive joins the firm with their own portfolio of projects and existing staff are expected to take on the work they may be unfamiliar with without any additional support or training. The new executive tries to set expectations because she didn’t come there to do a crappy job and, rather than articulating what they need to succeed, staff are so resentful of her presence they rebel and do crappier work, which leads to more expectation setting, and around and around we go.

      • Prairiegirl says:

        I agree that’s a huge dynamic here.

        And add to this different factions of the Court jockeying for position, trying to push “their” Royal up and sabotage others… In olden times one brother would’ve simply taken their people and laid siege to the other brother’s castle. One side would end up in the Tower and we’d be done with it. Weirdly seems more humane than what’s going on now.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      This is esp interesting as the Cambridges have a long history of treating staff badly, it’s been a revolving door with them since the beginning.

      This is just the Palace’s getting ahead of bad press to come out of the interview – its obvious that a certain couple is worried as is Jason Knauff. Jason just keeps proving that he (with the support of the Keens) was one of the main architects of the smear campaign.

      The reports where pretty much rubbished as the time – one of the PAs left for another job and it was reported more than once that Cohen parted on good terms with the couple.

      To me it seems that the people who said they were bullied were Cambridge hires and that as such thats maybe where the tension came from – there was clearly issues between the couples and it could be that staff were caught in the middle. There was at least one story about Kate saying that they were HER staff – me thinks people were territorial about sharing office staff, with staff being put in a difficult position about where ‘loyalties’ lay.

      • Becks1 says:

        I think its clear that Jason Knauf and Simon Case are trying to get ahead of the interview – like they are worried that Meghan is going to name them and they want to make it known that Meghan is only retaliating against them for reporting her “behavior.”

      • betsyh says:

        Becks1: Simon Case and Jason Knauf must think that Meghan will say they (or whoever told them to take this to the Times) are the ones that silenced her. “Were you silent or were you silenced?” must have really scared them.

      • And why did none of this come out when they were dragging Meghan right and left pre and post “Finding Freedom” release? Why now? Just like the 4 royal staffers waiting until High Noon to come after Meghan to “create a level playing field” during her recent lawsuit against Associated Press. REALLY? You hate Meghan and want her dead basically, yet you’re trolling her with made up s**t on what were probably very minor stuff issues, earring wearing, etc from 2018? Smells like DESPERATION to me.

      • windyriver says:

        @Digital Unicorn – occurred to me also; (some) office staff may have been part of a turf struggle, and/or instructed to do things which made them uncomfortable.

        The bit about making some PAs cry reminds me of Melissa Toubati, especially the bit about, “people need to be treated well and with some understanding even when they were not performing to their standards.” Didn’t she supposedly quit in tears while working with Meghan before the wedding? Her story was, Meghan was demanding, but another explanation was, she wasn’t doing her job? Is this about her, or is she a useful model to project on others?

        That there’s any semblance of paper trail from two+ years ago says Jason, etc. had a CYA plan from the beginning should the sh*t hit the fan about what they were doing to submarine Meghan. Been in their back pocket for the day she decided to talk publicly. How ironic if Harry and Meghan did as we suspect in the interview, which is, discuss issues with the toxic press, while not going there about involvement of KP/RF, hence no need for this preemptive strike by KP which has by itself made clear exactly how Meghan was being treated.

        Can’t imagine that Oprah will let the information go that was revealed this week, especially the last stupendous piece of BS about how Meghan wanted to be victimized. She’s going to give her opinion in some format, possibly an intro to the full interview, and it won’t be pretty for the multitude of clowns that comprise the RF orbit.

        The only positive note is, since the info Jason et al is now peddling is a couple of years old, it’s probably the last of their ammunition. Details about Harry and Meghan’s current life is beyond their reach, so maybe after this weekend the two of them will be able to feel they’ve turned the page.

      • Nic919 says:

        There is a screencap of an IG story to deuxmoi that looks to be a letter to them stating that someone was hired to work on the wedding without any previous PA experience and that this person was originally fired from her last job but in the UK you can’t give a bad reference.
        It is heavily suggested that this relates to Toubati. Who in the Harper’s Bazaar article is noted to be a friend of Knauf prior to getting this position.

      • windyriver says:

        @Nic919 – that’s so interesting. I’m grateful to commenters here who follow social media much more extensively than I do; have heard deuxmoi referenced but am not familiar with it.

        After reading the excerpts from the articles posted here today, something just rang a bell about Toubati possibly being referenced. What a surprise she’s a known friend of Jason.

    • Kalana says:

      Malicious compliance as well, I bet.

      This is textbook racism. OMG.

    • Lemons says:

      But, @Becks, I thought they were the “gold standard” 😂😂😂
      It’s pretty obvious from the quality of the work we saw from H&M compared to the hot air-filled balloons from the Keens that there was one standard of work that was extremely successful, and another that falls flat even for their own supporters.

      • Fool’s Gold, maybe. Does KP really want to open the can of worms about Sussexes splitting from KP? I seem to recall an actual British journalist stating that there was an embargoed story about an ongoing legal proceeding re Cambridge mismanagement of the funds and this and other issues got the Sussexes to accelerate their own separation which both KP and CH were all for at that point.

        And it’s amazing to me that it would seem no one was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement if they interacted with Meghan as Bad Boss press leaks only seem to be about her.

    • Tessa says:

      I hope William never gets near the throne. His behavior is horrible.

    • Nina says:

      Yeah right, PwT. Pull the other finger.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Becks, it’s unreal to me how not only William but the many others who must have been involved with the publication of that article apparently never thought about how it could be interpreted very differently from the way they were expecting it to be, and considered that it might completely backfire. It just shows how entrenched they are in their mindsets; they thought this story would paint Meghan and only Meghan in a negative light. One of my takeaways from it is that clearly, staffers knew that if they went to their superiors to complain about Meghan, it would be not only acceptable but welcomed — it seems as if it was known throughout the office that they disliked her as well. it’s so obvious how toxic that entire office environment was.

      I also think that they intentionally published that quote with zero context. If I had to guess, if Meghan did in fact even say that, that it was not her response the *very first time* the subject came up— it sounds more like something she might say after things had been building up for a while and she was fed up, right?

      I’ve always been disgusted by how Meghan was treated, but my sympathy for her today is absolutely off the charts. I just can’t begin to imagine the living hell her life must have been.

  4. Mac says:

    This is beyond pathetic. Clearly there is no one who will speak truth to any member of the BRF.

  5. Snuffles says:

    So, they couldn’t do the job that was expected of them but it was MEGHAN who was supposed to lower her standards to meet theirs.

    It’s clear to me they weren’t capable of handling the work and THAT is why they split offices so Meghan could hire her own staff that could help her execute her projects.

    • S808 says:

      It’s makes me wonder how much work Meghan had to do herself to get the cookbook out.

      • Bren says:

        It makes me wonder if the staff was ordered by the principals of KP to drag their feet at any requests made by Meghan to make things more difficult for her.

      • Snuffles says:

        ALL of it. If I recall correctly, I’m pretty sure she went outside of the palace and used her connections to get the project done. And that the senior staff was pissed about it. Same with SmartWorks. She used her own connections to get the project up and running.

      • Amy Too says:

        Sniffles, and the fact that she had people outside of the palace to work with shows that other people don’t have a problem with her. We have heard nothing but good things about how kind, professional, and hard working Meghan is UNTIL she joined the royal family and then it’s only the KP staff that seem to have a problem with her. Anyone else she worked with at her patronages, or outside PR people, outside advisors, outside lawyers, outside press, etc, have never complained about being bullied or yelled at or made to cry. She has a huge list of contacts of people she has worked with previously and goes back to when she needs something, and they say yes. The person who helped make the Sussex website is the same person who worked on the Tig with her. She maintains these relationships and nurtures them and people work with her over and over again because she’s a joy to work with.

        I highly doubt she suddenly became a crazy, angry, bullying task masker (but only to palace staff) once she joined the royal family, and then immediately shed that evil persona when she left. It doesn’t make any sense. It reminds me of actresses who are called “difficult” because they have boundaries about sex scenes. Or regular black or POC women in the work force who are called angry, mean, intimidating, and “she just makes me uncomfortable” because they act like professionals who are at work and not like they’re there to entertain you with a sassy black woman BFF routine whose just grateful to be there.

      • iconoclast59 says:

        @Bren, I was thinking the same thing. I bet KP staff were slow-walking all of Meghan’s initiatives. She probably had to hound them for reports and updates.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Amy Too the showrunner of Suits has already commented on it, saying that his experience with her was wonderful and that when he worked with her, she was very warm and not at all the way she’s being portrayed here.

    • LaraK says:

      Well, in their eyes, Meghan shouldn’t have ANY standards. She was allowed to join the BRF – she should be grateful and compliant, not all hardworking and thoughtful and stuff. Someone with Meghan’s drive and commitment is outside their realm of understanding.

  6. Oh_Hey says:

    Yikes on trikes!
    People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards, they were told. Meghan is said to have replied: “It’s not my job to coddle people.”

    I read the above as “ well yes they were bad at their jobs but what did the American expect. These were nice aristocratic lads and ladies and they’d been promised cushy no or low work jobs. Cut them some slack. She actually expected them to WORK. how gauche!”

    But you’re right. It’s like they couldn’t help but tell on themselves. Also it’s probably a feeble attempt to say we admitted they were fired for cause when H&M inevitably show up lawsuit in hand with receipts. I smell another summary judgment in Meg’s favor coming…

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      The wording is so loose and vague there’s no defamation here. Just story telling with no details.

  7. S808 says:

    “People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards”

    Yeahhh work culture over there is WAY different cause if you’re not doing the job you’re hired to do you’re not going to get coddled, you’re going to get fired.

    But good on them for admitting they’re shit at their jobs. Self awareness and all that.

    • heygingersnaps says:

      I find it so bizaare, my partner works at a secondary school and he has a lot of colleagues who are poor at their job sometimes even refusing to do work that falls on them and yet the trust doesn’t let go of them. So his hope is they either quit because the school doesn’t do anything to make sure that these people do their jobs that they are being paid for properly. Just odd and frustrating.

    • Maria says:

      That’s not their work culture lol. I am sure there are exceptions as there are to everything but I never experienced any work culture in the UK that allowed you not to do your job with the absence of consequences. The employees in question were either high level Cambridge agents or courtiers who hated her. The Cambridges treat their staff like garbage so any story about them trying to make allowances for staff is hilarious to me.

      • Becks1 says:

        This is something that I keep thinking of regards to this whole line of attack – it makes the UK look bad. I know the UK is not full of lazy workers who get in a tizzy if their boss asks them to do something, but these stories sure give off that impression. Why is the palace leaning so hard into this idea of “the american made us work!!!!” it just makes them look lazy .

      • heygingersnaps says:

        Well it happens quite a lot, if you have an in with the head or the trust itself, no consequences. My partner (white british) can tell you a lot of his experiences with work shy colleagues. I’m really baffled as to why they don’t do anything because it’s just a waste of money.

    • UptownGirl says:

      @ S808, I desperately needed that laugh as I am utterly speechless as to what this vile RR’s and PWT is now shoving down everyone’s throats!

    • Louise says:

      This! They’re not even good revisionists.

  8. Case says:

    It’s sounds to me like she was their boss and expected them to perform well. Gosh, scandalous.

    • Monica says:

      I worked at a company with a manager who was considered to be hell on wheels. I came up for a promotion and she was slated to be my boss. I almost turned it down because of her reputation. But I did end up working for her and we got along famously. Strong, capable, takes no shit, respects excellence. Yeah, what a ball-buster.

      • Southern Fried says:

        Same happened with me. Many people hated her but I was excited for new job. She came to be the best boss I ever had, I always knew exactly her expectations and I respond to and appreciate that allll day. The job involved at least one crisis every week and honestly we made the best team. She moved on and we still stay in touch in a friendly way. We always use each other as references for any endeavor. Was she blunt and rigid to some, yes, but I’m totally okay with that. I learned a lot from her and she’s said the same of me, we made an unusual pair with our differences but it worked. And all this is in view of my having worked for one of my best friends for a while, we did okay but boss bitch was the absolute best teammate ever.

  9. Beach Dreams says:

    The half-assed and blatantly malicious nature of this smear is so typical for the “highly skilled PR” of William and his goons. I’ve seen so much backlash to these “scoops” AND the RF that I am almost certain that KP will dearly regret trying this nonsense.

    • swirlmamad says:

      Let us pray! People magazine is being fairly objective….their headline on this framed it as “Meghan Markle ‘Saddened’ by ‘Attack on Her Character’ amid Bullying Allegations from Palace Staffers”.

      I also like how they interjected this line, as it’s very important to the story and drives home why this is all happening: “One report in November 2018 in the Mail on Sunday branded the Duchess — who is the first woman of color in the royal family in modern history — “Hurricane Meghan” and claimed that she “bombarded aides” with 5 a.m. emails and texts.”

  10. Jillian says:

    My impression: these staffers had some rude things to say to Meghan, likely those clumsy racist microaggressions this bunch spews fucking constantly. And they got told, to their faces, by Meghan. And I had thought the story in 2018 was that these people had been let go, not quit – am I crazy?

  11. Myra says:

    Simon Case is old school political strategist. Of course he asked Jason Knauf to create a paper trail they could use to justify the smear campaign they were planning. They still haven’t detailed the bullying being alleged which is required when creating such a trail.

    William, an actual bully, did not hasten the separation because of staff consideration. He did it in his attempt to exile his brother. These are the same people that briefed the media against the Sussexes constantly. They conspired to deny Meghan access to crown jewels and bragged about it to humiliate her. They wanted to send the couple to Africa because in their racist mind, they won’t hold global attention from the continent. They planned a budget flight stunt to hurt Harry in the media and elevate themselves in comparison. Innocent people don’t go to these lengths to fight against bullying. They do that when they are guilty.

    • Oh_Hey says:

      Totally agree.
      On the African exile I point what always seems to bother me is how popular they still would have been if that had worked. Could you imagine the reception African countries would have given an black British American princess that would have championed their causes and probably used the words racism and colonialism out loud in speeches.

      The BRF can’t possibly think that that would have been less of a win for H&M than what we currently have and yet they do. They don’t get it -they’re the problem.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        What was the reason given for the Sussexes not living part-time in Africa? Was a reason given?

    • notasugarhere says:

      William didn’t hasten the separation, at least not the one of the Households. The Queen and Charles authorized a separate Household for Harry and Meghan. William put out his own spin through sources, claiming it was going to be separate staff but still under KP and his control. Queen and Charles slapped back publicly with moving it to BP and co-funding it, to get Harry and Meghan away from William’s abuse.

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Yeah I don’t buy this – William didn’t want to lose control over them and the money they brought into the Royal Foundation. It was clear that it was TQ and Chuck who were behind the BP office, they knew what was going on.

      • Tessa says:

        The Queen and Charles let William run rampant and allowed him to miss the lunch during the meetings with Harry, so William could have a hissy fit. William seems to be allowed to do this by the Queen and Charles. The not allowing Harry’s wreath to be put down was probably William’s idea.

  12. Noki says:

    Wasnt there a #BeKind campaign in the British press not so long ago? Honestly i want Meghan to shut off all the media she can,once again they are trying to stress her out during her pregnancy. I was naive to think they will back down a little before the interview,they have gone scorched earth.

  13. Harper says:

    The doctors must have told the family that Prince Philip was being discharged from the hospital later this week and William screamed at Knauf to “Do something!”

  14. Naomi says:

    BRF really showing their asses. As I’ve said before, H&M are too classy to dish about the Windsors; in Oprah interview they will keep their criticism to the press. But it’s so obvious the bullying comes from family, that W&K, etc are at times explicitly encouraging and at other times silently condoning these leaks and smears.

    I’ve always been curious, tracking BRF gossip for the past year or two, mainly as part of celebrity escapism… but honestly this sh*t is so dark, and now I’m just kind of emotionally invested, which is weird because in general I don’t have much sympathy for the ultra-rich. But no one, especially a Black woman, deserves this vitriol and abuse. It’s truly horrific and last night was the first time where I was deeply disturbed by it all. I had known british media skewed right, but didn’t realize until Meghan came along how absolutely unreprentently racist and sexist they are! And the Times no less, I had thought was more reputable than that. The Press-Palace relationship is gross AF– reminds me of Fox/Trumpublicans.

    Anyway, I hope H&M realize how many people are on their side.

    • Jais says:

      Same Naomi. It’s dark and disturbing right now.

    • heygingersnaps says:

      the times are probably in the windsors pockets or they have a mutual understanding. I don’t think they were supportive of Meghan from the start.

      • Not at all hard to understand HEYGINGERSNAPS ——. The Times is owned by Murdoch who also owns the Daily Mail the New York Post, Page 6, Fox, and the Wall Street Journal. And probably many others.

      • heygingersnaps says:

        I didn’t know that he also owns the times. I do know murdoch also owns sky. It’s so funny because they had adverts running for sky news, something about being objective and fair or some bull crap of the sort when they are anything but. I avoid anything that is part of his corporation as I refused to give them clicks or ad revenues if I can help it.

    • swirlmamad says:

      Same. Reading about the royals used to be my escape, but I’ve become so invested in H&M that it stresses me out when I see and hear the negative stuff about them. It’s not fun anymore. As a black woman, it hurts me to the core to see her being treated like this. It’s personal for me and I feel for her so much.

      • Lady D says:

        Same. I’m actually seriously debating not reading stories involving W or K. It just pisses me off so badly, and it upsets me to see decent people handled so appallingly. It’s better for my health that if like Trump, I just ignore William.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      Truthfully it hasn’t been fun to follow the H/M saga since the smear campaign began, but lately it’s taken a dramatic dark turn that’s turning my stomach. I hope Meghan has the self control to avoid reading about what’s being said and just depend on her team to do what needs to be done. Irregardless of whether she can avoid most of what’s being said, it has to be trying for her having to deal with smears during another pregnancy.

      • Naomi says:

        None of it has been fun. It’s been bad for a while, but it just got SO DARK in the past week or so, since the pregnancy then Oprah announcement. It was already dark, and now it’s just… ::shudder:: Daily Mail & Sun are basically Parler at this point. I know you can’t “de-platform” the Press the way twitter de-platformed Trump, but goodness it would make H&M’s lives safer and healthier.

      • swirlmamad says:

        I can’t imagine Meghan nor Harry are going online to read any of this stuff. That would be self-inflicted torture. Especially for Meghan, who should not be stressed out now, I’m sure it’s on a “need-to-know-just-enough” basis so that they can craft statements to be put out by their staff. I think she is wise and self-aware enough to know how unhealthy reading the press around all of this is. She said as much in the VF interview she did before the news of their engagement came out, and it’s all gotten so much worse since then. Maybe Harry is reading it but I hope it’s minimal for him as well.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Naomi, I’d love it if there was someway to deplatform some of them. Sarah Vine, Piers, Penny, Rebecca English, Jobson among others.

    • Keroppi says:

      Agree with everything that you said!

      I find it jarring sometimes to see a comment (on other sites) or people in person who are on the side of the RF and that H&M are getting what they deserve or that H will regret his choice. And I want to ask them, are you aware of everything that has gone on and what they have endured?

  15. Lemons says:

    This is the hardest KP has worked in 2 years! I’m impressed. It’s still shoddy work.

    • Drun says:

      Ha, ha!

    • Beach Dreams says:

      Incredibly shoddy. The amount of comparisons to Diana that have been brought up, the disgust I see from people who don’t even focus on royal news, the scrutiny this is bringing upon Elizabeth and the RF’s way of operating on a number of issues…someone didn’t think carefully enough.

  16. Kalana says:

    William is an idiot. He has converted noone and he has angered people who weren’t paying close attention. Take a look at the comments on Twitter under this story.

    • lanne says:

      The only people who agree with him were people who hated Meghan for the same reason he did—racists. Great, so the RF will be associated with racists just like the Republican Party in the US.

  17. SnowQueenM says:

    This is so interesting to me. It really highlights how devastatingly out of touch the aristo and Royal set is, to not be expected to work hard. Or at all?

    You get sick because you boss calls asking whether or not you’ve notified someone about media presence? You can *not* do your job, and then have to be handled with kid gloves because….???? This is everyday stuff that we all have to deal with to maintain employment. I don’t see a smoking gun here unless it’s “wow, the Royal aides are really bad at what they do”.

  18. Traci says:

    I mean … these fools were used to twiddling their thumbs all day long until M came along. Just mad they actually gotta work and not just play pretend. KP just pulled their own pants down on the playground

  19. bitsycs says:

    So being bad at your job and being told to do it properly is bullying now. Lmao. Okay, then.

    William is a sad sack of a human. Imagine being this lame and miserable. Just truly pathetic.

    • Sunday says:

      it’s bullying when a Black American does it. They’re so pathetically obvious, it’d be funny if it wasn’t so despicable.

  20. Amy Bee says:

    Sounds like the KP staff were lazy, bad at their jobs and didn’t want to work for a black woman.

  21. Kalana says:

    William is a pathetic POS.

    BTW, the offices split while Meghan was almost due. And this is after William scurried around to Philip and other family members to try to prevent the split.

    William has actively bragged about not listening to his staff. And his little Covid tirade in Ireland was him rebelling against Covid changes to the tour (Walkabouts cancelled. Lol, Cambridges spreading Covid. Sorry!). What an arrogant, ridiculous little twit to think people won’t call him on his bullshit.

    If Vanity Fair wasn’t toothless with Katie Nichols right now, they could have an amazing story to write about all this. William is a trainwreck.

  22. Lizzie Bathory says:

    Clearly, they’re throwing out as many smears as possible before the Oprah interview. But I also think this is KP’s “revenge” leak of stuff the anti-Meghan faction didn’t get to present in court since they lost pretty spectacularly. I’m assuming they didn’t shop this to the Mail in hopes of not making it too obvious, which, lol.

  23. swirlmamad says:

    This is so effing disgusting. These cretins (and Will is at the top of the list) should be ashamed of themselves, but they’re not…because they have no souls. Reminds me of Trumplicans and how they operate. What on earth could this woman have done to be treated in this vile way, aside from being a black American who dared infiltrate the whitest, most conservative institution on earth? Karma is coming for these people, and I can’t wait to see them get their just desserts.

    • iconoclast59 says:

      I share your disgust. I’m so tired of all the hate and meanness we’re seeing in the world right now. So much of it… And to what end? That’s what I don’t get. What do people expect to accomplish by acting this way? I want so desperately to reverse this trend, but these bullies and abusers are so entrenched, I don’t even know where to begin. Truly sickening.

  24. Izzy says:

    So we are supposed to believe that despite the fact that Willie is always incandescent with rage, MEGHAN is a bully. LOL OK then.

    • Kalana says:

      No. William has told us he’s not afraid to have the tough conversations. Meghan on the other hand is scary!

  25. tee says:

    there was likely a clash in working styles, expectations, and culture shock on both sides. meghan was brand new to the institution and country, under immense pressure to perform, and apparently her staff were not up to the task. competent leaders (isnt Will is the head of KP?) handle these things with patience and care, however, they don’t allow their staff to begin leaking stories to the press.

  26. ABritGuest says:

    So why did they claim all this time the office split was because a) William had dropped Harry like a ton of bricks b) William was preparing to be king so office split reflected his constitutional importance c) Sussexes wanted to do commercial deals which William& Kate weren’t allowed to do as future king. Again surprised this bullying report didn’t come out at same time as the duchess difficult stories. Also find it odd that Samantha Cohen would willingly extend a 6 month stint to 18 months & attend Sandringham summit if she was being bullied by Harry & Meghan unless she was playing the long game and has a book coming out one day lol.

    The Times even reported at the time of Sussexit that William’s competitive nature with his brother had led to the exit and said “quite early on they decided..”we are going to tell these people their place and we are going to push them away”. So this seems like pre-emptive damage control for the media & the palace and is having effect of people saying they really want to watch the interview now.

    The smears are on for after the interview. I hope Oprah can appear on CBS the next day and speak to how she’s been smeared herself or even stories that have emerged in run up to the interview

    • betsyh says:

      ” Also find it odd that Samantha Cohen would willingly extend a 6 month stint to 18 months & attend Sandringham summit.”

      Excellent point ABritGuest. Actions speak louder than words.

    • Myra says:

      Because it’s hard to keep up with one’s lies.

  27. IMARA219 says:

    As a Black woman having to operate in “Mixed company”-style workspaces, all of these phrasings are triggering because it sounds like microaggressive statements. What’s interesting to me is that the Duchess is not even a nonambiguous-heavily-melanated Black woman, and yet the same mannerisms, accusations, and stylings are being tossed her way. These forms of actions are usually, in my experience, not directed towards someone of Megan’s comport and background. It reveals a lot about the royal institution: a) they are most definitely openly-widely racist b) entrenched in a non-inclusive environment c) lacking non-racially bias leadership.

    I am sure the Duchess is equally confused by these attacks at first and that is apart of her trauma. She should have been accepted by this group, she has the educational background, the philanthropist work background, and the gravitas to succeed. The smears only prove how deeply-seeded their racism is grounded into their institution.

    • Lemons says:

      I feel exactly the same way. I would like to see a photo of the KP office staff…scratch that all palace office staffs/royal team members (not the Palace groundworkers, servants, etc.) I want to see what that demographic makeup is.

      • swirlmamad says:

        @Lemons It will look exactly like that White House intern photo from the Trump era that circulated…..white, white and more white (and a whole lotta testosterone, I’m sure).

      • IMARA219 says:

        Right, like I can just tell that the staff is socio-economically and racially homogeneous.

    • MissMarierose says:

      As a WOC (not Black), I recognize this language. WOC are expected to ‘know their place’. WOC who are in charge are not expected to act like a boss; they’re expected to take whatever they’re given by the people who work for them. Any criticism, constructive or otherwise, is seen as bullying.
      She was always supposed to be grateful for any crumb that came her way because they believe she didn’t belong there. That’s the mentality.

      • BnLurkN4eva says:

        Yes, this has been my experience. It’s so insidious and very few people believe you when you attempt to explain. Even some of your personal white friends think you are imagining things, so frustrating. It’s hard to prove without getting HR involved and making a big thing, or revealing things of a confidential nature. I like to choose my battles when it comes to these things, so in my case I end up doing duties that should be delegated to avoid the drama.

      • IMARA219 says:

        Yes, it’s microinvalidations. They were going to be nasty to whoever Harry married. They had the descriptions cued up “partier” “showboat” “ditzy”. All of his girlfriends received a certain narrative. They could not apply this properly to Meghan, which is why they always mention she’s “Hollywood”. The layer of racism is profound in its abuse in her case. They know what they are doing.

      • swirlmamad says:

        It’s the gaslighting that’s the worst part of it. Like, she and H knows it is happening, WE can see it’s happening to her, but there’s a huge swath of people who simply refuse to admit that racism and xenophobia are at the base of their cruelty towards her. It’s maddening.

  28. Lauren says:

    “We are so bad at our jobs and no one has ever anything to said anything about it except for that black duchess who actually expected us to work, hence she is a bully”. I can’t for the life of me understand how anyone thought it would be a good idea to put this info out there. Goes to show that royal work is just about privilege without any merit.

    • IMARA219 says:

      I mean this is a bad look for KP. It just won’t read well for American audiences. I don’t know what or how the average British citizen would receive this type of “news” but on the heels of her court win it just appears odd. As if they are mad that they could not tarnish her name in court.

  29. Christa says:

    This is so dumb – and the stories point back to William in a really obvious way – his current aide, etc. If you want to rile up the British press reporting on the rift between the brothers, this is the way to do it. (also keeping the actual rift going, but BRF may be more focused on the public perception.) Too bad Queen or Charles won’t lay down the law to Kensington Palace and tell them it makes them look bad and they need to stop this clumsy, stupid, fight. The press will be happy to be all over the story because the fight will sell papers. And we’ll get endless commentators anlyzing it. The worst thing you can do to the press is deprive them of fodder!

  30. Miranda says:

    Every attempted smear against Meghan really just makes me love her more. “It’s not my job to coddle people”? Badass. She doesn’t take shit from anybody and doesn’t accept mediocrity. We should all be such “bullies”. What’s the saying? Bitches get stuff done. (Not that I’d necessarily call her a bitch, but that’s what they’re portraying her as.)

    And of course it must be appreciated that she’s doing this as a Black woman. That takes a lot of courage (though in this day and age, it really shouldn’t, but so many people are still racist trash).

    • IMARA219 says:

      LOL, right. Like her biggest issue was…check notes…not “coddling” people & asking them to do their jobs and being “sharp”. WTH! Isn’t a boss supposed to be sharp if you aren’t doing your job? This just reads as mega-lazy.

    • betsyh says:

      If a man had said, “it’s not my job to coddle people,” he would not be considered a bully.

      • Miranda says:

        Right? I mean, I guess a very specific type of woman could probably get away with it. White Republican women are given pass after pass for their assholery, at least in the eyes of Republican men, whose insultingly cynical idea of gender equality involved choosing a trashy backwoods moron like Sarah Palin as a VP candidate. But yeah, any other woman would risk immediately being fitted with a scold’s bridle and strapped into a ducking stool.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Miranda ita! They unwittingly make her more lovable with what they think are insults, lol.

  31. Dee says:

    Pair this with the story about Angela Kelly dragging her feet and being uncooperative with Meghan’s tiara fitting for the wedding and you see a pattern.

  32. 100% no doubt…William is the leader of all bullies ! I am sorry for the UK it will have a cruel man-child king who is so insecure of himself. Kate deserves him. They’re two peas in a pod.

    • Keroppi says:

      Exactly! The man known for being a bully is calling out bullying! Remember this is the same guy who wanted to exile them to Africa!

      When I saw the title, my first thought was that H&M were enforcing boundaries and the palace is crying bullying. “How dare you not let me stomp all over you?!?!?!”

  33. Midnight @theOasis says:

    I’m confused. I thought it was the Queen and Charles who ordered the splitting of the households. That they brought H&M under Buckingham Palace to get away from KP and William’s bullying. Is William rewriting history again and claiming credit for something he didn’t do?

    Also, it’s becoming clearer what Harry meant when he said “If you knew what I knew”.

    • notasugarhere says:

      William has always tried to take control of that split. He publicly leaked that it was going to be separate staff but still under his control. Right after, the Queen and Charles showed he was lying by giving Harry and Meghan their own Household under BP. One of their few public supportive moves frankly.

  34. Seraphina says:

    I have grown tired of how the word BULLYING has become over used and over played. It’s as if just the mere mention of the word means everyone will agree with the person saying they are bullied.

  35. mimi says:

    Chris Ship just went on Good Morning Britain and said: The unnamed victims of this alleged bullying did not file a complaint against Meghan and it was done without their consent. He also confirmed they did not participate in the writing of this article and that this all came from higher above. So that explains the lack of details and frankly inconsistencies.

    • SarahCS says:

      Can we have this repeated loudly please!

    • tee says:

      then who are the sources? have these accusations really been made based on only second-hand accounts? that’s completely irresponsible journalism.

      • Sunday says:

        Exactly, it’s based on the assertions that Jason made in the emails (obviously to create a paper trail of nonsense). He could’ve emailed William saying the Queen is having lunch with Lucifer, that doesn’t make it true.

      • Becks1 says:

        “came from higher above” implies to me that William sat down with Low.

    • S808 says:

      No wonder there’s no details or names. And we’re supposed to take this at face value?

    • sara says:

      Soooooooo, some random staffer couldnt handle the projects Meghan wanted to do, so they ran off. And now two years later higher ups are going behind their back to leak that story that they don’t even want out there? Woo boy.

    • Becks1 says:

      so it sounds like Jason Knauf did one thing right – he laid a paper trail for this so that it could be used later to smear Meghan.

      Obviously there is nothing to these claims because if there was, it would have come out as part of the Original Smear Campaign (now we have to call it “original” and “new” as opposed to just The Great Smear Campaign). the OSC had the tidbits about making Kate cry, and the 5 am emails – so now we’re getting that Knauf made a complaint on other employee’s behalves, but it didnt go anywhere. But had Meghan berated a staffer or something, I think the specifics would have come two years ago.

      We’re not hearing specifics now because the specifics are “she asked me to do something.”

    • Suze says:

      Is it just me or is Chris Ship getting soured on the Cambridges? His tweets about this whole thing have been oddly (for him) pro-Sussex.

    • Let’s hope Chris Ship continues to chew on this tasty morsel. Sounds like he’s not letting it go. Poor William. He might actually be called somewhat to task on this latest BS.

  36. SarahCS says:

    Ok so firstly Willy the Rose Gardener is laying his cards on the table for all to see, stuff any thoughts of reconciliation between the brothers!

    Then on a much more tangential point, the BRF is supposed to represent Britain and make us look good on the world stage right? (stop laughing, I’m going somewhere with this) So how does making British workers look lazy and incompetent all the time help that? I know there are differences in US and UK work style, for better and for worse on both sides, but this constant referring to the differences makes British workers look AWFUL. ‘She expected us to do our jobs to an acceptable standard, that’s bullying!’

    • lanne says:

      Yeah, the U.K. looks like shit right now on the world stage. It’s a circular firing squad between Brexit and bullying a pregnant woman, the wife of the most popular and personable royal. If the Sussexes say nothing about the Cambridges, how will these smears look then? Every smear they throw at Meghan comes back to smack them. They are all going to have to watch what jewelry they wear now! Andrews still walking around an honorary colonel and HRH. The Malignant Seven are a joke. Their only response is to double down? I’m hearing lots of people say they don’t want to set foot in the U.K. if the U.K. stands for racism, what about all the tourism benefits they’re supposed to bring? How does this look to the Commonwealth? Who’s minding the store over there?

      I get the feeling that the royal rota real anger is that they are stuck with the wrong brother. They have no option but to hide his temper tantrums and transgressions, but how long can that last? What happens if William is actually outed as the bully and cheater he’s whispered to be?

      • The Cambridge’s are going so low right now that they’ve defined a new bottom. What a backfiring bitch if the Sussexes go even higher than usual in the Oprah interview. Hope Instant Karma comes for them on March 7.

  37. Wiglet Watcher says:

    This is great. William tells on himself yet again. He’s so guilty of hateful, racist behaviors.

  38. MsIam says:

    Funny how the leaks to the press stopped after the split. Bet that was your idea all along huh William? He’s a POS brother for sure, truly Charles son. Now we see why Diana was so paranoid and convinced that the palace aids were spying on her. Its not hard to believe, given what we see here.

  39. teehee says:

    Wills & Kate are going to inherit this mess- they are making themselves more hated and less credible or respectable with each passing day.
    He expects to be a King with this going on?
    So when he’s King who is the press going to blame for him not being liked anymore because of what hes partaking in now? Who are they gonna find to blame for this all?

  40. Sunday says:

    What’s more believable: that Meghan, who received plenty of press coverage prior to meeting Harry, who never had a single negative story about being difficult on set or a diva, who arranged for kraft services to give leftover food from set to a shelter instead of wasting it, the UN & clean water ambassador, was really a bully the whole time? Or that William, who proudly displays an incredibly racist painting and had to scramble to cover the placard before the Obamas visited, simply could not accept that his brother fell in love with a Black American and did and is still doing everything in his power to stamp her out of their lives? That William, who is ‘bored’ of racism because it gets in the way of his football games, has cultivated like-minded staff who would similarly begrudge having to take orders from Meghan and therefore intentionally went out of their way to make her life as difficult as possible, all the while knowing they’d have the approval of their ‘real’ boss, william? Hmm, that’s a tough one.

  41. Merricat says:

    Breathtakingly stupid. I knew they were going to show their asses, but I didn’t know they’d strip all the way down for us. We see you, KP.

  42. chisey says:

    I think the way the article is presenting things is interesting. I mean, I would agree that people need to be treated with some understanding even if they aren’t good at their job, but what that means is different to different people. Calmly telling someone they did not do a good job and need to do better in the future is fine in my opinion. Firing someone who doesn’t do the job up to your standards is okay. Yelling at or publicly humiliating someone is not. What is interesting to me is that the article focuses on the staff’s reactions and leaves Meghan’s actions vague, which sort of lets the reader fill in the blanks. Staff ended up in tears, staff felt humiliated, staff felt terrified and was shaking. That is awful! I would hate to feel that way at work. And it invites me to fill in the blanks with the sort of terrible behavior that would make me feel that way, maybe think about the worst bosses I’ve ever had, and then project that behavior onto Meghan, without actually identifying any of her bad behavior other than to say she was “sharp” or “unpleasant.” I think it’s written quite cleverly/nefariously – nothing that can be clearly identified as objectively untrue that would leave the paper open to a lawsuit, but it invites the reader to imagine Meghan is this abusive Devil Wears Prada style boss, whether it’s true or not. I have no idea what the truth might be, and the way the article is written lets me imagine I do without actually telling me anything concrete about what Meghan did.

    • Jais says:

      V good analysis about how it’s all about the staff’s feelings and vague about meghan’s actions. Still surprised this a real article actually and not a Cambridge fanfic

  43. Eliza says:

    Of course I know the word ‘coddled’ but it’s not go-to american phrasing. It sounds more British. If it makes a difference I live in California.

  44. Kiera says:

    So I distinctly remember stories during the time that they separated offices saying that it was Meghan who had had initiated it and all her fault etc etc. She had broken up the Fab Four and couldn’t stand being in Kate’s shadow.

    I find it interesting now that they are saying it was William that was pressing for it because Meghan was so horrid to the staff and he was protecting them.

  45. Janey says:

    I am literally crying right now. This is such an obvious racist tactic — ANY BLACK PERSON (Esp. WOMEN) who has been in a position to find themselves either with access to power or with actual power/authority in the working world has run into the AGGRESSIVE tactic to shut down legitimate discussions that question a mediocre status quo embraced by white managers/executives. And YES the whole weaponizing white women is a big tool for this. So many times I have been accused of making a white woman cry or making a white man uncomfortable when I point out an obvious performance deficiency. It’s racist deflection, it’s effective as HELL, and it’s why I have left jobs QUICKLY. I’ve seen so many bright black people and people of color whose careers faltered because of this, I spent YEARS in therapy figuring out that I wasn’t the issue — it was bigger than me and the best I could do is figure out how to thrive and not survive. Yes, this is not touching my hair (yes that shit still happens) BUT it is even more toxic because it isn’t just racism, it is racism with a side of gas-lighting.

    I will say this…I am so here for other white people, in particular, to step up and call this bullshit out.

    • iconoclast59 says:

      Janey, I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been through. I’ve been through some terrible work experiences, too, and I know how demoralizing it can be. Stay strong, and never, EVER, forget your worth!

      I hope Meghan’s patronages take up the cause for her. It would really help if they issued statements attesting to how wonderful she’s been to work with, to counter the bile coming from the BRF and RR.

    • Jaded says:

      Janey – you speak the truth. I was an HR manager in a large media firm before I retired and some of the stuff that went on with employees who were women of colour made me sick. I had to go to bat for several of them who were working with misoginoir managers and colleagues. The racism was subtle but it was there – being overlooked for promotions even though they were more highly qualified for the job than the white employees who were given the promotions; snide comments about their hair or their accents or whatever. It was horrible. Don’t let the bastards get you down as my dear old dad used to say.

    • February-Pisces says:

      I agree, having to watch Meghan go through this has been so frustrating and not just for people of colour. It’s triggering for anyone who has experienced discrimination whether LGBT or those with disabilities, seeing someone whose ‘different’ being tossed to the wolves. Also the elements of sexism too, they praised Kate for being a dull docile doormat, but still went for Diana when she showed strength, star power and a good work ethic. It’s just another way of ensuring women in general stay in their lane and do as they are told.

      I think all those people who have been bullied or been in abusive relationships too, the parallels of the abuser turning around and trying to blame their victim. It’s personally triggering on so many different levels to so many people and KP still don’t see that.

      The only people who don’t see it, or who are complacent to it are those who have never been through it.

  46. Lowrider says:

    “Shaking in fear” ?!?!

    This tale is very short on details.

    What is clear, is KP manufactured the hateful smear campaign against Meghan. Simon Case and specifically Jason Knauf ( #poorJason no more) were on a bender to destroy Meghan. They are throwing everything at her in there last attempt to character assassinate her.

  47. Abena Asantewaa says:

    There is a conspiracy of a smear campaign against Meghan from day 1, masterminded by William and Kate and Jason Knauf. These people are wicked! Instead of the headlines; Meghan wins court cost, we have this trumped up allegation. They should name names, and tell us the source. How can this be allowed to happen, this family is disloyal! I remember all the name calling by the Palaces; Harry’s showgirl, Me’again, Degree Wife, Interloper, The American, so many derogatory names given her, and they dare turn around and call her a bully! Jason Knauf in cohoots with the press to manipulate Thomas Markle from coming to the wedding, and his brazen collaboration with the tabloids.

  48. Rae S-L says:

    This Pre-emptive attack and gaslighting smacks of desperation, as the real bullies know what they did and are afraid that their toxic behaviour will be brought to the light of day. It is also a way of drawing attention away from the fact that Meghan has won her case, undermine the upcoming interview, forget about Prince Andrew’s choice of company and behaviour etc. Have been seeing pictures on Twitter of Piers Morgan photographed with well known convicted paedophiles and/rapists. He has the temerity to lead a witch hunt against a woman who has done nothing wrong but not be fully Caucasian and a geisha/stepped wife like her sister-in-law.

  49. aquarius64 says:

    Omg. William is making the House of Windsor look really bad.

  50. Chicken says:

    I actually think it’s more than KP staff being unprepared for work. I don’t doubt that was the case, after “working” for the lazy Cambridges for years, but I suspect these aides were instructed to interfere with Harry and Meghan’s aims, and then to file complaints when the Sussexes became frustrated. This feels like more than just incompetence; this feels like a set-up.

    • Becks1 says:

      I think so too, especially with the email from Jason to Simon -they were laying the groundwork for something (probably keeping this email in their back pocket for a time like this, when they needed to reign Meghan in, in their minds.)

      This is just too coordinated to be a matter of “she asked them to work,” even though i’ve been saying that all morning, lol. This feels like the staffers were told not to listen to Meghan, that she wasnt their boss, etc, and then when she pushed back they freaked out and complained and now we have this story.

      • Lilly (with the double-L) says:

        @Chicken and @Becks1, this entire thing is frustrating and sad and they’ve become irredeemable people – which I rarely believe. So the set-up of these things feels very true to me as well.

  51. It’s no wonder Kate behaves awkwardly with William around. She cringes and he looks like he doesn’t want to be with her at all. He wants to be with Rose Hanbury. These two (William and Kate) are in a loveless relationship and sham of a marriage. But Kate has no way out. She can never disentangle herself from her evil husband. She’s getting a preview of what’s going to happen to her if she leaves him. He will make sure she’s pulped and scorched earth. Just as exactly what he’s doing with Meghan. William is the devil incarnate.

    But come to think of it Kate deserves it. She’s complicit with the vilification of her sister-in-law.

    • lanne says:

      This is ominous business for Kate. And unlike Meghan, she has no powerful friends, no skills, and likely no money. She has shackled herself to this sinking ship. Marrying into this family should come with a warning. Hopefully the monarchy will be abolished for George’s sake. It’s honestly the best thing that could happen to that kid.

    • Nic919 says:

      Kate is no different than Melania. She chose this life and refuses to leave even though she could. No pity for her especially with her obvious aggressive behaviour toward Meghan.

    • Tessa says:

      Kate never lifted a finger to help Meghan, even perhaps spread gossip about “making her cry.” Unless William falls for someone else and dumps her, she is stuck with him.

  52. Lunasf17 says:

    That whole work environment sounds so toxic for everyone involved! Everyone sounds like they were pitted against everyone else and made everyone miserable.

    • Sandra says:

      I like to read British royal history and plotting against each other isn’t anything new. In fact, it’s a tale as old as there being a British royal family. What a “family” to belong to.

  53. Colleen says:

    They really expect us to believe that she spent all that time in Hollywood and it NEVER leaked that she was a bully? Come on. If she were awful we’d have heard about it long before now. This really just sounds like someone wasn’t doing their job, got in trouble, and sold the story coupled with outright lies.

    Either Hollywood is INCREDIBLE about keeping secrets, the royal aides are lying, or the royal aides are incredibly thin-skinned.

    • iconoclast59 says:

      Also, repeating what I said earlier, we haven’t heard a peep from her patronages about awful behavior. In fact, just the opposite: They’ve all spoken warmly of her, about how wonderful she’s been to work with.

  54. RoyalBlue says:

    whew. I am not american and all i can say is thank god for 1776 when the US found freedom! can you image if king george won what kind of fucked up world it would still be? these pea brained idiots can’t even run a simple household far less a country. bunch of spiteful incompetents.

    • Nina says:

      This. I am currently raising my kids in the U.S. The best thing that happened to the US was winning that war. They have their own problems but nothing compared to that crap heap.

  55. Sandra says:

    Wow, great way to show you’ll be a leader King, William. “But she was mean to meeeee!!!” Hey remember when your ancestor Queen Elizabeth I’s own cousin plotted to have her murdered? Now that’s serious. Grow up, Bill.

  56. lanne says:

    This is so silly because it’s all, at heart, about a popularity contest. Fairy tales are written about this: the dumb, cruel elder sibling and the wily, or honest, or kind younger sibling. William is not likeable. So what. He’s still going to be king. He was incapable of playing a long game with his brother and Meghan. He could end up blowing up, or severely damaging the prestige of the royal family due to petty jealousy. This isn’t even trumpian—after all, trump has charisma, and knows how to tell his followers exactly what they want to hear. He opens his narcissism to make them feel included within, even though they are not. But William? Who loves him? Who even likes him all that much? He’s been coddled and handled with kid gloves his whole life. He doesn’t even particularly want his role—he just wants to be elevated over others to feel powerful. I think that’s his only concern. He acts impulsively, with no thoughts for the future. No wonder none of the women he wanted wanted him back. He’s the ultimate fragile man baby. You know he was seething after watching Harry do the obstacle course—and I know he saw that tweet comparing him walking on a 2 foot plank with Harry climbing the rope unaided. I honestly think this latest shot is a response to that. Meghan made him feel stupid, and Harry made him feel emasculated. How best to get back at Harry? Go after the woman he loves. Chris Ship said this story came from “higher above.” It’s lacking thought, direction, or purpose. It’s just an attack.

    • Excellent LANNE.

    • Harper says:

      @lanne I think you hit the nail on the head. Too many recent wins for Meghan and Harry crushed it with the James Cordon bit. William lashed out in this completely childish, immature way because he was being made fun of online and out of anxiety over what is to come on Sunday. We know Willcandescent meets with the Times editors and we know Jason Knauf would never just call up a reporter and leak with attribution unless KP put it on his to-do list for that day.

    • Nic919 says:

      Harry won’t back down when Meghan is attacked, especially if he knows it’s directed by his brother.

  57. SKH says:

    Kaiser: Thank you. When all is said and done we have Palace Aides who refused to do their job and dare I say take instructions from an angry Black American. The British Karens are so afraid to answer phone calls for fear of the wrath of the angry Black women. Straight out racial bullhorns. Here is what I’m starting to see reveal itself. William is trying to get ahead of what he thinks will come out against him. So he’s trying to tell his story without telling the story. It doesn’t make sense because we’re not getting the full story. What we’re getting is a piece of the story to frame Meghan in a negative light. Because William is “tired of racism” he doesn’t understand he’s putting forward a scenario steeped in racist phrases and innuendo that Americans spot a mile away. The fact that the British Media is willing to stake its international reputation on this BS proves it has been complicit in this racially charged attack on Meghan. Now it’s being bared out for all to see in all of its ugliness.

  58. BnLurkN4eva says:

    I truly can’t imagine any woman going forward marrying into this family, especially marrying a person who isn’t a direct heir. Maybe I’m being naive, but it’s all out there in a way that a young person wouldn’t have noticed with Diana and Fergie and what they went through. With social media and these dramatic episodes I can’t imagine that it can be missed what British royalty is about and who would want this? Truly.

    • Lizzie says:

      I think most of the UK women know this and that is why so many turned down both William and Harry. Now the rest of the world sees how horrible the bm is to married in’s too.

    • OR says:

      It can be missed though. I am from South Africa and the max knowledge I had of the BRF was that there is a Queen, Diana – and that she had two sons. One of her sons was married. I truly did not know much until Meghan came along. So I can believe someone removed from all of it would come in thinking this would be tough but not realize they would be crucified, maligned, and hated. To become a hate figure. I mean since Meghan I learnt that the BRF treat you fine as a girlfriend but masks off when you’re a wife. Add in that one’s natural charisma and intelligence makes them a popular and prominent figure in the family and the jealousy of the others comes running out.

  59. Liz version 700 says:

    This is so obvious and so pathetic. This level of fear someone was a giant bulky but it wasn’t Meghan.

  60. lanne says:

    I went down the rabbit hole of the UAE story with Princess Latifah and her failed escape. She’s locked in a sealed dungeon in one of the palaces in Dubai with no windows or ways out. It’s scary stuff. The Sheiks wife is holed up in London with their underaged kids, mainly to stop a possible wedding between the child and MBS of Saudi Arabia. If William could, I believe he would have Harry imprisoned the same way. That sounds crazy, I know. But this is a man angry that his brother left the country. How spooky is that? Even if Meghan was the worlds biggest Hollywood diva, nothing she or Harry has done has warranted this strike. If they had nothing to hide, they wouldn’t care about an interview with 2 minor royals. All they are doing is making everyone question just why this interview is such a big deal. I’m on an anti William kick today. Someone in the BM needs to have the gonads to tell the truth about him.

    • swirlmamad says:

      I want him put on blast far and wide so everyone will know what a POS he is. Blow it all to smithereens. I literally cannot stand the sight of him anymore. Crazy to think how far he’s fallen.

  61. Jay says:

    If it had been the Queen (or Anne) that had said it’s not their job to “coddle” anyone who is not up to the mark, it would be celebrated.

    There is such a “How dare SHE come in here and tell US what to do” which speaks to the low expectations the staff must have had for her, and for themselves. If I had a kickass boss who came in with her own connections and ideas that would then make me look good, you’d best believe I’d be answering early morning emails. I haven’t heard a word from any of Meghan’s past jobs, not hairstylists, not craft services, and not set assistants, so why is it that these behaviours (whatever they may be) were only detected by the staff at KP?

    I am also surprised that William wants to have his name linked to Jason Knauf and these accusations?

  62. Poisonella says:

    They couldn’t hire their own staff? This sounds more and more like the staff didn’t like uppity black women. I read the staff was pissed because she wanted to start her day early, and that was the main problem.

  63. aquarius64 says:

    William is garbage. He’s Trump with a title. This is the Great White Hope of the House of Windsor?

    Dear UK,

    Your future head of state is a joke. The only throne Billy belongs on is one that flushes, holding a roll of toilet paper as his orb in one hand and a plunger as his sceptre in the other, sitting with his pants around his ankles.

    • Gabby says:

      Interesting throne imagery, Aquarius, because whenever I see a picture of Will smiling through those gritted teeth, he looks like someone straining through a bout of constipation.

  64. Jaded says:

    This reminds me of the movie Wag the Dog with Dustin Hoffman wherein a political spin doctor and a Hollywood producer fabricate a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal. It doesn’t end well for the spin doctor character (aka William). He’s so blatantly the source for all of this smearing he may as well wear a tee-shirt stating “SMEARMASTER”.

  65. L4frimaire says:

    I saw some of this on Twitter and Emily Andrew inserted herself into Kaiser’s thread, and what stood out is Andrew’s said if it’s not true, why hasn’t Meghan sued? I thought that was a very strange thing to say and kind of aggressive. To me it shows that they are definitely pissed about her winning the lawsuit and her demands that the Mail issue a front page apology. Also, it seems they want a lawsuit, or they wanted a trial they could testify at but the summary judgement nixed that. Some of this stuff was already laid out in the court documents about the staff turnover and Tatler published a nasty article in May 2019 about how the staff called her Me-Gain and said she was demanding. At the time, it was very mocking and a great laugh for them at Meghan’s expense, but now it’s her bullying them. Anyway, I’m not surprised by another Meghan is so mean and made people cry narrative. I don’t know what type of interview they’re expect from Oprah, but I don’t think it will be what they expect.

    • MsIam says:

      I thought some of those things were included in her lawsuit but the judge threw them out because they didn’t involve copyright issues? Plus, what could she sue for? People saying she was tough to work for and demanding? That’s just opinion. Hopefully Meghan will set the picture straight in the interview. But both Fergie and Diana made these same claims about how they were shut down for using their voices. I hope Oprah uses those clips in her interview.

  66. Lesley says:

    If there had been a reason to report Meghan to HR then it would be up to HR to deal with it. After doing so Jason should have shut his mouth. Jason should be reported to HR for bullying Meghan and for breaking his NDA by dropping stories to the British Media.

    I can see that Meghan had ideas and projects she wanted to accomplish and so needed staff who were on the ball, not ones wanting to do their nails all day. Though answering emails sent at 5 am immediately would not have been a requirement from Meghan so it’s ridiculous that comes up so often. Meghan probably just sent emails when something came to her, to be dealt with in office hours.

    Jason’s been moved sideways into a new role so here’s hoping he no longer has the power and the tidbits to leak to the press anymore?

    • Well they don’t have any tidbits to leak that aren’t at least 2018-2019, because the Sussexes cut anchor and left the island behind after that. All that got is “stuff” from the past.

  67. Lizzie says:

    So this is all a load of made up nonsense but let’s take it at face value. Then William is responsible for enabling a bully within the firm by simply moving her office – this is not resolving the issue it is kicking the can down the road. The employees who filed formal HR complaints were in no way looked after.
    If any of this were true the employees would be suing the heck out of KP and William for releasing/not protecting privileged information and for failure to take actions against bullying. But no the alleged victims are still working there after their HR info was released and no action was taken on their supposed behalf.

  68. Andrew’s Nemesis says:

    I think Meghan and Harry found evidence of financial irregularities and decided they didn’t want to be associated with them. PWT is simply covering his arse by deflecting.

  69. February-Pisces says:

    Do you all remember Kate’s aid, I think she was called Sophie, who was sacked after 7 years for no reason after she had just been on her honeymoon? Remember how they tried to blame Meghan for it? Hmmmm

  70. Lora says:

    ‘Practically spastic’ what a horrible turn of phrase. I don’t know if this is acceptable jargon in the US, but I’m in the UK and this sounds horrible and disablist to my ears. Please do better.

  71. Trixie says:

    It is becoming so obvious that the rumour is true … Will was cheating on Kate, the media got wind, and to distract he instructed his guy to start leaking negative Meghan stories. The timing lines up; it could not be more obvious.

    What a sleaze. Guess he takes after his father, who also apparently made the boys walk behind the casket so he wouldn’t get jeered and booed.

    The freaking Daily Mail headline that these bullshit “bullying” claims are the worst crisis since the abdication!!! WORSE THAN PRINCE ANDREW BEING A PEDOPHILE???!???!?!??!