“I think it’s wrong of the Queen to decide that nothing comes out.”
THE Queen was wrong to keep the report into claims Meghan Markle that bullied staff at Buckingham Palace secret, Prince Harry’s biographer has said.
Angela Levin said she understood that “family came first” for Her Majesty but indicated staff members left traumatised by alleged bullying may now feel let down by how the investigation has been handled.
She told GB News: “I think it’s wrong of the Queen to decide that nothing comes out. For those that were left traumatised by this, I think it would be very important for them and for others to know how they (the Royal Family) want to re manage things in future. They haven’t been told anything about the investigation and what was going to come out . I understand family comes first.
A lot of us think family comes first but you also need to care for the other people and not let them come last. You’ve got to make those who have spoken to the investigators feel like it has some point to it, because it must have been very hard to retell a story that was very hurtful to you.”
Her comments come in the wake of an announcement over the long-awaited report into bombshell bullying claims.
The findings of that investigation into the handling of allegations of bullying made against the Duchess of Sussex will remain private.
The review, launched in March 2021, examined the response to claims about bullying of staff – but any changes to policy will not be made public.
The palace source said those taking part needed to have “confidentiality”.
The duchess had strongly denied the allegations.
Buckingham Palace’s inquiry has resulted in changes to “policies and procedures” which would be known to “all members of staff, all members of the Royal Family”, said one royal source today.
This would mean improved working practices for royal staff, it was claimed.
But details of what has been implemented will not be revealed and it is not known who contributed to the investigation. Past and present employees were invited to speak about the handling of bullying claims relating to Meghan. The palace’s investigation, which used an outside legal team, followed a report in The Times with a leaked email alleging two members of royal staff had been driven out by bullying.
The Duchess of Sussex’s representatives have not commented on this latest development on the review of how the bullying claims were handled.
But when the investigation was launched last year they had rejected allegations as the “latest attack on her character”.
They said it was particularly unfair when the duchess had been the “target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma”.
The claims about bullying came a few days before the broadcasting of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey.