Buckingham Palace brings outside legal firm to conduct bullying investigation

Buckingham Palace will bring in an independent outside legal firm to conduct an investigation into allegations that the Duchess of Sussex has intimidated royal officials, reports say.

In an escalation of the impasse between the two parties, Meghan Markle wrote to the Palace demanding to see documents, emails or text messages related to the complaint of bullying against her, The Mail on Sunday may reveal.

But in an unprecedented move that will undoubtedly increase tensions further, the royal team decided that a third party should take charge of the investigation, rather than the internal investigation initially announced, according to The Sunday Times.

A senior Palace aide accused Meghan of “unacceptable behavior” towards two personal assistants and of undermining the trust of a third party, leading to the investigation that will be handed over to a law firm.

Existing actual and current advisers who were prevented from giving evidence in court during Meghan’s recent legal privacy battle are expected to speak to the inquiry.

But in a clear indication that the Duchess is preparing to fight what she called a “smear campaign”, a senior palace source confirmed that her office had “written to request the evidence”.

In response, the Queen forwarded the request to the Prince of Wales, whose closest advisers are now conducting a search of the archives.

Meanwhile, it was discovered on Saturday night that William and Harry had ‘been in contact’ for the first time since last Sunday’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Sunday Times reported.

The interview saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make shock waves with accusations of racism against ‘The Firm’.

In February, two senior members of the royal team claimed that they were bullied by Meghan, with a third saying that they had been personally ‘humiliated’ and claimed that two members of the team had been bullied.

Meghan denied the charges.

However, according to a real source speaking to The Times: ‘The worst real incidents have yet to be made public. There are some distressing stories to tell. ‘

“There is a lot that can come out of the wash that hasn’t been told,” another source told the newspaper.

Sussexes should not be invited to participate in the investigation, despite having written to Buckingham Palace about the matter, a decision that could further widen the gap between the royal family and the couple.

The news that Meghan is preparing for a battle with the Palace to defend her reputation comes as:

• The 94-year-old Queen will move ahead with her planned appointments this week to continue the ‘business as usual’ approach adopted since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey;

• Meghan’s friend Janina Gavankar joined the fight claiming that one of the PAs had been fired for ‘gross misconduct’ and did not leave because of bullying;

• Omid Scobie, the co-author of the Sussex biography, Finding Freedom, said he saw an email from Meghan asking employees to correct a story that she had made the Duchess of Cambridge cry;

• The Harry and Meghan Archewell Foundation announced that it would support several charities, including Mind, the mental health charity, Color of Change, an American civil rights organization, and PressPad, which seeks to improve media diversity;

• In an earlier post on Meghan’s blog, The Tig, she knew all about the ‘pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and the endless conversations about Princess Kate’ – seeming to contradict her claim that she had little knowledge of the family real before you know Torment;

• The palace said that the racial issues that came up in Harry and Meghan’s interview – particularly the suggestion that a family member raised questions and concerns about the color of their unborn son’s skin – would be taken seriously and dealt with privately.

Meghan’s allegations of intimidating behavior drew the Sussex fury.

The accusation came to light earlier this month when an email sent by Jason Knauf, the couple’s then press secretary, was leaked to The Times.

Written in October 2018, when the Sussex still lived in Kensington Palace, Mr. Knauf wrote: ‘I am very concerned that the Duchess managed to expel two PAs from her home last year. X treatment [Name redacted] it was totally unacceptable.

‘The Duchess seems determined to always have someone in view. She is intimidating Y and trying to undermine her confidence. We received reports and reports from people who witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y. ‘

The email was sent to Simon Case, then private secretary of the Duke of Cambridge and now cabinet secretary, after Mr. Knauf’s conversations with Samantha Carruthers, head of the palace’s HR.

In his email, Mr. Knauf said that Mrs. Carruthers “agreed with me on all points that the situation was very serious”.

He added: ‘I am still concerned that nothing will be done.’

Buckingham Palace said it is ‘clearly very concerned’ about the allegations, adding: ‘The officials involved at the moment, including those who have left the house, will be invited to participate to see if the lessons can be learned.’

But the Duchess’s spokeswoman responded by saying that she “is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been bullied and is deeply committed to supporting those who have gone through pain and trauma”.

The palace expected any investigation to be a private matter, but that seems less likely now that the Duchess’s friends have apparently been allowed to defend Meghan in public.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond to a request for comment.