Meghan Markle was described today by former staffers as someone who could be a “demon” and treated some employees “like marketeers” amid an escalating row over her management style.
A palace courtier who reportedly worked for the Duchess of Sussex said he “saw people being attacked in person and over the phone and made to feel ‘like shit,'” according to a new US media report.
Another former assistant was reported to have said that “they always thought she was a classic narcissist” and that she was “lovely when everything was going well for her, but a demon when everything went crazy”.
The report in the Daily Beast Two important recent articles about Meghan are published in the United States today, one of them in the Hollywood Reporter criticizing her as a “dictator in high heels,” and another in We weekly praising his management style.
A representative for Meghan and her husband Prince Harry confirmed to MailOnline today that they would not be commenting on the new Daily Beast article.
This comes as Harry continues to attend events in New York this week, while Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet are at home in Montecito, California.
Prince Harry and Meghan visit San Basilio de Palenque on their tour of Colombia on August 17
A courtier who is said to have worked for Meghan and Harry when they were still senior royals was quoted by the Daily Beast as saying: ‘I think after the Megxit upset, Meghan’s bad times were amplified, distorted and blown out of proportion.
That being said, there were definitely bad, really bad times… I witnessed how people were treated in person and on the phone and made to feel like shit.
“But it was a very difficult time and I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. She herself has said that she had suicidal tendencies at times.”
Another aide who worked with Meghan before her wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 spoke out about the positive image portrayed in the Us Weekly article.
The assistant told the Daily Beast: “I always thought she was a classic narcissist.”
They added: “She’s charming when everything goes right, but she turns into a demon when things go wrong.”
Prince Harry speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City yesterday
A third source told the Daily Beast that a florist was “screamed at over the phone” after posting a detail about a bouquet they were working on for her, without identifying Meghan as the client.
This source said: ‘They vowed never to work with her again, despite the prestige that came with having her as a client. If you worked for her, you were often treated like a salesman who could be treated like shit.’
This follows allegations made in a September 12 Hollywood Reporter article that ‘The Difficult Duchess’ had made grown men cry while ‘barking’ orders.
Then, staff loyal to Harry and Meghan gave the couple a glowing review and a positive account of their work life to Us Weekly in an article published yesterday.
Josh Kettler, Harry’s former chief of staff who left after just three months in August, told Us Weekly that he was “warmly welcomed” by the Sussexes and called them “dedicated and hard-working.”
Josh Kettler, Prince Harry’s former chief of staff, who left after just three months in August
“It was amazing to see,” he added, without giving further details about why he left so quickly.
Ben Browning, Archewell’s former head of content (who was responsible for the revealing Netflix documentary but then left before his contract was up) said his experience at the company, and with Meghan and Harry in general, “was positive and supportive.”
Her current PR chief, “global press secretary” Ashley Hansen, says she was treated with “the kind of concern and care that a parent would express if it were their own child” when she took time off for surgery, adding that she was also sent flowers and gifts.
She added: “Meghan personally checked in with my husband every day to make sure we were both okay and had support. It meant a lot to him and even more to me. You don’t realise how much that kind of kindness and thoughtfulness means until you need it.”
Meghan with former Archewell president Mandana Dayani, who spoke out in support of her
Another anonymous source told Us Weekly: “This is the first company I’ve ever worked for where I liked every single person. Harry and Meghan picked the best of the best from every field and watered the seeds so they would blossom. We have a huge microscope on us. But good things are happening.”
They said Harry asks on work Zoom calls about what staff have been up to over the weekend and as a team they plan events such as karaoke nights and “holiday parties.”
A former staff member said the Sussexes heard they had adopted a dog and “the next day, I had a luxury branded lead and a brand new collar on my doorstep”.
The parents-to-be also receive “brand new gifts and top-quality secondhand items from the couple themselves,” such as unused car seats and baby items they no longer need, it said.
“They want to take care of us,” said one current employee. “Meghan does things like, ‘You mentioned on the call that your skin is bothering you. I put together a kit for you.'”
Ben Browning, Archewell’s former head of content, said his experience at the company, and with Meghan and Harry in general, “was positive and supportive.”
It was also stated that no one leaves the couple’s home in Montecito empty-handed.
“Every time employees go home, they leave with a basket of fresh flowers, fresh fruit, fresh eggs,” said one staff member. “They are the best bosses I’ve ever had,” insists another current team member.
Also talking to We weekly Yesterday it was former Archewell boss Mandana Dayani who said the “kindness, mentorship and support” she has received from the Duke and Duchess “happens quietly behind closed doors”.
It’s a stark contrast to recent reports of a series of departures from his Archewell organization, which combines its media deals with philanthropic efforts.
The Hollywood Reporter’s article claiming the Duchess is a “dictator in high heels” was obtained by someone “very high up” who still works for the couple, it has been claimed.
Maer Roshan, co-editor-in-chief of the Hollywood Reporter, has said he stands by the story.
The article also said Meghan “doesn’t take advice” and has made “grown men” cry while “barking” orders.
The Hollywood Reporter also described the couple as “people who make bad decisions” and “change their minds frequently.”
Maer Roshan, co-editor-in-chief of the publication, later said she stands by the story, despite the backlash among Sussex supporters.
Mr Roshan said they had spoken to around a dozen people who had worked closely with Harry and Meghan “now and previously”.
He also told Access Hollywood that “our reporter spoke to a very high-level source who works for the couple who said everyone is scared of Meghan.”
The Duchess is said to be “disdainful of people” and “not accept advice.”
Prince Harry and Meghan after their wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 19, 2018
Although they have not made an official statement, a source ‘close’ to Harry and Meghan rejected the claims last week.
They also noted that a note in her email signature saying staff should not feel obligated to respond outside of normal business hours was further evidence that she was not picky.
Meghan herself has always strongly denied allegations of bullying against staff, claiming they were part of a “calculated smear campaign.”
Mr Roshan added: ‘Difficult Duchess is a nickname that has followed Meghan for quite a few years.
“What’s new is that since I came to the United States there’s this idea that a lot of these rumors were fabricated by the Palace and the reporting we’ve done suggests they’re probably not true and there’s still this underlying current of fear.”
Buckingham Palace launched its own investigation after the harassment allegations became public, but has declined to reveal the results.
Insiders previously told the Mail that she never spoke to former staffers who might have evidence to back up allegations that she bullied several female employees when she lived in the UK as a working royal.
The Mail also revealed that former staff had dubbed themselves the “Sussex Survivors Club” and that some were suffering from the equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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