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The Duchess of Sussex is said to be “saddened” by a report, days before the broadcast of an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which claims that she faced a bullying complaint at Kensington Palace.
The Times reported that Jason Knauf, then communications secretary for the Sussexes, filed a complaint in October 2018, alleging that Meghan had expelled two personal assistants from the home and was undermining the trust of a third staff member.
Her spokesperson said: “The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of harassment and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.
“She is determined to continue her work generating compassion around the world and will continue to strive to set the example of doing what is right and what is good.”
Buckingham Palace had no comment.
The Times reported that sources had said they felt only a partial version of Meghan’s two years as an active member of the royal family had emerged.
The complaint was said to have been made in October 2018 by Knauf, who was the couple’s communications secretary at the time. Sources reported that Prince Harry pleaded with Knauf not to go ahead.
The latter is now executive director of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with whom he accepted a job as an advisor following Harry and Meghan’s decision in 2019 to establish a separate official home with offices at Buckingham Palace.
Knauf was reported to have emailed Simon Case, who was then the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary but is now the cabinet secretary, after speaking with Samantha Carruthers, head of human resources. Case was said to have referred it to Carruthers, who was based at Clarence House.
Knauf reportedly said that Carruthers “had agreed with me on every point that the situation was very serious” and remained concerned that nothing would be done.
The Times reported that Harry and Meghan’s lawyers had told the newspaper that Buckingham Palace was “using it to sell a totally false narrative” prior to the interview with Winfrey.
A spokesperson for the couple was quoted as saying: “Let’s call this what it is: a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see that this defamatory portrait of the Duchess of Sussex has received credibility from one media outlet.
“It is not a coincidence that the distorted allegations from several years ago aimed at undermining the Duchess are being reported to the British media shortly before she and the Duke speak openly and honestly about their experience of the last few years.”
The two-hour CBS special featuring the couple talking to Winfrey will screen in the US on Sunday and air in the UK on March 8 on ITV at 9pm.
The royal house will be prepared for the revelations of the conversation, which is considered “intimate” and “wide”, as the couple discuss their lives within the royal family and their exit from high-level jobs in the monarchy.
Most of the show will be a conversation between Winfrey and Meghan; Harry is expected to join in on his own for a final, future-oriented segment. The couple confirmed last month that they were expecting a younger brother or sister for their one-year-old son, Archie.
The events occur when Harry’s grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, is ill in a London hospital. Prince Philip, 99, spent nearly two weeks in King Edward VII’s private hospital before being transferred to St. Bartholomew’s hospital on Monday for tests on a pre-existing heart condition.
