Meghan Markle.
Photo: Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images
Buckingham Palace will hire an outside law firm to investigate the suspected bullying charge against Meghan Markle, the Sunday Times from London reports – a move that everyone hopes to further increase tensions between the Duchess of Sussex and the royal family.
The dispute started earlier this month, when the Times from London published a report accusing Markle of intimidating palace aides during his short tenure as a royal senior. In response, a spokesman for the couple denounced the report as part of “a smear campaign calculated on the basis of misleading and harmful misinformation”. And, in fact, it is the right time raised eyebrows: It came a few days before Markle and Prince Harry’s unrestricted interview with Oprah, which the palace did not want to see.
In response, Buckingham Palace, in a formal statement, announced that it was “clearly very concerned” about the allegations and would initiate an investigation. Now, the palace is hiring an outside company to conduct the investigation, which will seek the cooperation of current and former officials. (According to a Buckingham Palace spokesman, the palace “will not provide public comment” on him.)
The urgency and seriousness with which the palace is addressing the charge of bullying contrasts sharply with the royal family’s response to the explosive claims made by Meghan and Harry in their interview – in particular, that an unidentified member of the royal family raised concerns about the Archie’s skin color. The queen’s statement on these statements was surprisingly brief; she called the racism allegation “worrying” but said that he would be “treated by the family in particular”. Meanwhile, the palace continues to protect Prince Andrew, who had close ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and has been accused of having sex with a minor on several occasions.