{"id":79402,"date":"2022-09-27T07:36:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T07:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/prince-harry-joined-meghan-in-berating-royal-staff-new-book-says\/"},"modified":"2022-09-27T07:36:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T07:36:13","slug":"prince-harry-joined-meghan-in-berating-royal-staff-new-book-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/prince-harry-joined-meghan-in-berating-royal-staff-new-book-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry joined Meghan in berating royal staff, new book says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Headlines over the weekend about an explosive new book from a respected royal reporter have focused on bullied that Meghan Markle palace staff, reduced at least one to tears, subjected them to angry tirades and was branded by them as a \u201cnarcissistic sociopath.\u201d<\/p>\n

Excerpts of Valentine’s Low’s book, \u201cCourtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown,\u201d suggest that such alleged behavior by the American TV actress-turned-Duchess of Sussex wouldn’t have been possible without the support and complicity of Prince Harry.<\/p>\n

Indeed, a series of excerpts, published in the Times UK, show that Harry did his own share of yelling at staff. The excerpts also describe how, even before Meghan came along in Harry’s life in 2016, the second son of King Charles III could behave petulantly. He distrusted palace courtiers, was obsessed with the media, subjected his staff to \u201cloyalty tests\u201d and was mired in frustration about own role in the royal family. \u201cAfter Meghan turned up, it got significantly worse,\u201d Low wrote.<\/p>\n

For example, there was one young female aid who was on the receiving end of a browbeating by both Harry and Meghan, Low reported. First, Meghan excoriated the woman in a staff meeting in the high-pressure run-up to her 2018 royal wedding, Low wrote. Meghan then felt that she had been let down by that staffer over another issue. She called the employee repeatedly when the staffer was out for dinner on a Friday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry,\u201d the employee said, according to Low’s book. \u201cIt was, ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this. You’ve let me down. What were you thinking?’ It went on for a couple of hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The calls started again the next morning and continued \u201cfor days,\u201d the staffer said, Low reported. \u201cYou could not escape them. There were no lines or boundaries \u2014 it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.\u201d That staffer broke down in tears after Prince William heard about her treatment and came to console her and assure her she was doing a good job, Low writes.<\/p>\n

The idea that Harry allegedly joined his wife in being rude or demeaning to people who worked for them doesn’t square with the image the Duke of Sussex has tried to present of himself since stepping away from royal life in 2020 and moving to California.<\/p>\n

Harry has branded himself as an advocate for mental health and compassion. The army veteran holds the lofty-sounding title of \u201cchief impact officer\u201d for the San Francisco-based startup BetterUp, which advocates for healthy workplaces by providing \u201cmental fitness\u201d services to corporate clients.<\/p>\n

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Prince Harry Joins BetterUp as Chief Impact Officer: “What I’ve learned in my own life is the power of transforming pain into purpose.” https:\/\/t.co\/srcXABiPLN pic.twitter.com\/BPJU1YmsFX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mad About Meghan (@MadAboutMeghan) March 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation also has promoted their belief that compassion is \u201cat the core of everything we do\u201d and central to driving \u201csystemic, cultural change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that compassion is at the core of all culture and connection in this world,\u201d the couple said in a statement posted on their Archewell Foundation website in 2021, reports said. \u201cIt shows up in all of our interactions with people and enriches our lives and the lives of those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Low’s book, however, this compassion didn’t extend to people who worked for Harry and Meghan when they were part of the royal apparatus.<\/p>\n

Low is the reporter who broke the news in March 2021 that Meghan was the subject of a formal bullying complaint at Buckingham Palace. Because Low’s report came days before the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan and her lawyers characterized the as part of \u201ca calculated smear campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low acknowledged in his book that it can be hard \u201cto define exactly when a particular behavior amounts to bullying.\u201d He quoted Jenny Afia, an attorney for Meghan, as saying. \u201cWhat bullying actually means is improperly using power repeatedly and deliberately to hurt someone physically or emotionally. The Duchess of Sussex absolutely denies ever doing that. Knowing her as I do, I ca n’t believe she would ever do that. It just does n’t match my experience of her at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the bullying accelerated at a major shake-up Kensington Palace, with Harry and Meghan splitting their household from William and Middleton’s. It also prompted Buckingham Palace to launch an investigation. To the consternation of many who care about transparency in the monarchy, the palace announced in July that the results of the investigation would remain private.<\/p>\n

People have speculated that the findings exonerated Meghan and Harry \u2014 or that the Sussexes were let off the hook because the investigation also implicated other royal family members in bad behavior. Another view is that the investigation was buried so as to not upset Elizabeth II, who was in declining health. She died Sept. 8 at age 96.<\/p>\n

It may be that Low got some insider information about the investigation because new details have made their way into his book. Low quotes from an email that Jason Knauf, the American communications secretary for the Sussexes and for William and Kate, sent to his immediate boss in October 2018. He said he spoke to the head of HR for the palace about \u201csome very serious problems\u201d concerning Meghan’s behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,\u201d Knauf wrote in his email. \u201cWe have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards (name of staff member withheld by Low) despite the universal views from her colleagues that she is a leading talent within the household who is delivering first-rate work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allegations that Harry and Meghan were highly demanding or rude to aids first emerged in the first year of their marriage. Notably, there was the scandal dubbed “tiara-gate.” As has been widely reported, the queen agreed to lend Meghan a tiara for her wedding just as she had done for Kate seven years earlier.<\/p>\n

TOPSHOT \u2013 Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II looks on during the wedding ceremony of Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018. (Photo by Jonathan Brady \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo credit should read JONATHAN BRADY\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During an appointment at Buckingham Palace with Angela Kelly, the queen’s dresser, Meghan picked out the Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara from a shortlist of approved tiaras, Low wrote. But trouble erupted when Meghan wanted her hairdresser to make sure it would work with her planned hairstyle.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, on the day that Meghan’s hairdresser, Serge Normant, was in London, Kelly was not available, so neither was the tiara. \u201cIn Harry’s view, this was Kelly being obstructive,\u201d Low wrote. \u201cFinding Freedom,\u201d the sympathetic biography of Harry and Meghan, alleges that Kelly ignored repeated requests from Meghan and Harry to set up a date for a hair trial, which left Harry \u201cfurious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the palace simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult,\u201d wrote the \u201cFinding Freedom\u201d Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.<\/p>\n

Low said there could be another version of \u201ctiara-gate.\u201d It is that Harry and Meghan didn’t make the appointment out of naivety or because they expected others to be ready on their command. Low cited a source for The Mail on Sunday who said that Kelly’s essential view was, \u201cThere’s protocol in place over these jewels. They’re kept under very tight lock and key. You can’t turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low reported that Harry began calling people to put pressure on Kelly to bend the rules, but he did so, using \u201cfairly fruity language.\u201d Whether Harry swore at Kelly, or about her, is not clear, Low said, but the queen was n’t was n’t impressed. When Kelly reported Harry’s statements to the queen, she summoned her grandson to a private meeting. \u201cHe was firmly put in his place,\u201d a source said. \u201cHe had been downright rude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low also reports on personally witnessing Harry being petulant and rude, while accompanying the couple on their highly successful 2018 royal tour to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. A standard part of the royal tour usually comes when the royals venture to the back of the plane to say hello to the media.<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to talk to OneWave members, a local surfing community group raising awareness for mental health and wellbeing on Bondi Beach on October 19, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind the scenes on the tour, Harry had looked out of sorts, Low said. \u201cHis relations with the media pack had been prickly and strained. Where Meghan smiled, always putting on her best face whenever she was on show, Harry glowered. \u201d<\/p>\n

On the plane flying from Tonga to Australia, Harry and Meghan only appeared after the plane landed in Sydney.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the scene well,\u201d Low writes. \u201cHarry looked like a sulky teenager.\u201d Harry also sounded rushed, as if he couldn’t wait to get back into the first-class cabin. \u201cThanks for coming,\u201d he said, \u201ceven though you weren’t invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low points out that the media had in fact been invited to cover the tour, but aside from Harry being \u201cspectacularly rude,\u201d Low said the duke’s statement showed how much his behavior reflected his and Meghan’s deteriorating relationship with their staff.<\/p>\n

Low also muses on why Harry has always been so eager to please Meghan, even though it has left him on the outs with his family. When they were dating, Meghan was allegedly threatened to break up with him if he did n’t publicly announce she was his girlfriend.<\/p>\n

Another source also described to Low how Harry probably came to see Meghan as his savior. Low also reported that Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal life was seen as inevitable by their staff, even if it didn’t have to be so acrimonious.<\/p>\n

It’s not just because an independent, ambitious woman like Meghan couldn’t fit in with the hierarchy and rules of royal life, Low reported. It’s because Harry was deeply unhappy, especially because of his fear that he could become irrelevant after the queen died and William became first in line to the throne, and his nephew, Prince George, assumed more prominence as he grew older.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a part of me that thinks Meghan did Harry the greatest kindness anyone could do to him, which was to take him out of the royal family, because he was just desperately unhappy in the last couple of years in his working life,\u201d the source told Low. \u201cWe knew he was unhappy, but we didn’t really know what the solution would be. She came along and found the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n