Is Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, a bully?
Or is she a victim?
Or is she both?
Keep watching to learn why a report that could shed some light on those questions won't be
made public.
Meghan Markle's bullying controversy has captivated royal fans, not least because it chafes against
the duchess' description of The Firm as a cold, unhelpful institution that left her
to suffer alone with severe mental health issues during her time there.
"I just didn't…I just didn't want to be alive anymore."
The Times published a shocking report about the former actor's allegedly bad behavior,
taken from well-placed palace sources, alleging that she would sometimes leave her staff "shaking"
and "reduced to tears."
At the time, Markle's spokesperson described the move as, quote, "a calculated smear campaign
based on misleading and harmful misinformation," reasoning that its release was specifically
timed to coincide with the Sussexes' infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, in an attempt to
discredit the duchess and husband Prince Harry.
Jason Knauf, who previously acted as the couple's communications secretary, lodged a formal
complaint about Markle's misconduct, expressing his concern over her behavior and the effect
it was having on staff.
Knauf subsequently resigned his post as a royal aide.
In a stunning move, Buckingham Palace launched an official review into what really happened
but, as The Sunday Times recently confirmed, the findings will not be made public as expected.
And, according to a royal expert, there's one major reason why.
The findings from an internal review into the bullying claims made against Meghan Markle
by various staff members were allegedly so explosive that they had to be buried.
On Newsweek's "The Royal Report" podcast, chief royal correspondent Jack Royston teased
out the reasons the palace might have decided not to release its findings after they were
slated to be published in the Sovereign Grant financial report.
Royston claimed,
"If that report were published, it would be a complete bloodbath on all sides and nobody
would come out of it looking any good at all."
"Oh really."
The royal expert pointed out that it wasn't technically even an investigation, since that
wouldn't have been an option for someone not employed by the royal family.
Moreover, the problems occurred at Kensington Palace, not Buckingham.
Royston described a "toxic culture" at Kensington that nobody came out of unscathed.
As a result, opting not to release anything is safer in the long run.
Royston added,
"I think Buckingham Palace will have taken one look at this and thought 'we're just going
to look awful — this is going to make us look absolutely appalling' and if every single
fact and allegation came out I just think it would be a complete mud fight and there
would be mud over everybody."
Per Page Six, the official word is that the report is being kept private to prevent further
harm to the Sussexes' relationship with the royal family.
Although Meghan Markle will likely be relieved that the review is complete, certain commentators
reckon she's been let down by the lack of public clarity on the matter.
Express confirms that British author and journalist Sam Leith rallied behind the duchess to force
the royal family to release their findings.
Their silence might add fuel to the fire, Leith argued, leaving Markle, in his words,
"at the mercy of speculation and innuendo."
Although the results are reportedly being kept secret to protect those involved, now
the public doesn't know what to believe, a situation Leith calls "worst of all possible
worlds" for the Sussexes.
Moreover, Leith asserted that keeping quiet stokes the kind of tensions that Markle accused
the palace of encouraging when she first spoke out.
Leith told Express,
"Letting it be known that it's being done to keep the Sussexes sweet makes things even
worse."
Social media isn't buying it, either, with #theroyalfamilylied ["THE ROYAL FAMILY LIED"]
trending as fans called on The Firm to finally do right by Markle.
As one user pointed out, the former actor was never accused of bullying until she joined
the royal family, a statement that was backed up by many of her former colleagues, as the
Mirror notes.
Although the report won't be published, there are upcoming changes to the palace's HR policies
that should prevent a similar situation from happening again.
For fans of the duchess, though, it simply isn't good enough.
Many fans of the royal family wish that the report would be released so Markle would have
the opportunity to clear up the allegations made against her.
Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, said,
"To my mind, this perceived desire for complete transparency has taken a huge step backwards
because of their reluctance to expand on the report into the palace handling of the bullying
allegations."
More royal experts weighed in on the failure to make the reports public.
On the "Palace Confidential" podcast, Kate Mansey of the Mail on Sunday stated,
"I've never been at a briefing in my 20-plus years of reporting experience where something
has been so comprehensively swept under the carpet.
It's extraordinary that these allegations can be made at such a high level and the public
might never know the result of the review that's been carried out."
Richard Eden of the Daily Mail speculated on the podcast that the palace didn't release
the report in order to keep the peace with Meghan and Prince Harry, saying,
"At this briefing yesterday it sounds like [the palace was] really going on about how
grateful they were that [Harry and Meghan] came over, and really giving quite personal
details about meetings with Prince Charles and that sort of thing.
They seem desperate not to upset them, and I think that's a mistake."
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