Meghan Markle.
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Buckingham Palace will hire an external law firm to prosecute the suspected bully against Meghan Markle, the Sunday Times from London reports – a move expects tensions between the Duchess of Sussex and the royal family to escalate further.
The dispute began earlier this month when the Times of London has published a report in which Markle is accused of harassing palace aides during her short term as senior royal. In response, a spokesman for the couple denounced the report as part of a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and damaging misinformation. ‘And indeed, its timing raises eyebrows: It appeared a few days before Markle and Prince Harry’s non-stop interview with Oprah, who left the palace reluctant to see air.
In response, Buckingham Palace announced in a formal statement that it was “clearly very concerned” about the allegations and would launch an investigation. The palace is hiring an external firm to investigate, which will seek the co-operation of current and former staff members. (According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, the palace will ‘make no public comment’).
The urgency and seriousness with which the palace approaches the bullying accusation stands in stark contrast to the royal family’s response to the explosive allegations made by Meghan and Harry in their interview – in particular that a namesake of the royal family expressed concern about the color of Archie’s skin. The Queen’s statement on these allegations was remarkably short; she called the allegation of racism “concerning”, but said that it ‘will be addressed privately by the family’. Meanwhile, the palace still protects Prince Andrew, who had close ties to child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and has been accused on several occasions of having sex with a minor.