Buckingham Palace Launching Probe Into Claims Meghan Markle Bullied Staffers

According to The Times of London, Jason Knauf, the chief executive officer of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, had first voiced his issues regarding the behavior of Meghan to the human resources team of the palace in October 2018.

He said that she had "bullied" two palace staffers.

Meghan lived on the property of the palace with her husband, Prince Harry, prior to and after their May 2018 wedding.

The newspaper claimed that after the complaint was made, it was the prince who asked Jason not to move forward on it.

In response to the allegations, a representative for the Duchess of Sussex released a statement on March 3, as reported by Town & Country

"The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma," the statement said.

"She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good," it read.

“Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said to The Times of London about the accusations.

The reps claimed that it was no coincidence that distorted and old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess were sent to the British media shortly before she and Harry were set to speak openly and honestly about their experience as a royal couple.

The couple is scheduled to sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview on CBS, which will air on March 7.

In a trailer for the special, Oprah said that no topic was "off-limits" regarding the questions she could ask the couple.

"Almost unsurvivable. Sounds like there was a breaking point," Oprah said to Meghan. It was unclear as to what she was speaking about.

"My biggest concern was history repeating itself," said Harry, who is expecting his second child with Meghan. The couple has one son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.

The British press has heavily scrutinized the couple from the moment they announced their engagement in November of 2017. 

After welcoming their first son in 2019, the couple announced in January 2020 they would step down as senior members of the House of Windsor.