Some brides remain calm in the run-up to their wedding, while others become obsessed with even the smallest of details.
Meghan Markle was seemingly part of the latter group.
In the weeks before her wedding to Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018, it has been widely reported that the bride-to-be had a falling out with Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
But according to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, sources say Meghan did not just clash with her sister-in-law ahead of the royal wedding.
In her book The New Royals, Nicholl wrote: ‘On one occasion in the run-up to the wedding, Meghan went to Windsor Castle for a menu-tasting and ended up having a tense exchange with a member of staff, according to one source.
‘”Meghan was at the castle to taste some of the dishes, and told one of the caterers she could taste egg,” said the source. “She got quite upset, saying that the dish was meant to be vegan and macrobiotic.”‘
The bride-to-be’s ‘direct approach’ with the staff member allegedly came to the attention of Queen Elizabeth II – who was known for treating aides like family, even buying them Christmas presents every year.
So it is no surprise that Her Majesty had some stern words of advice for Meghan, according to Nicholl’s inside source.
Harry and Meghan taste traditional Welsh cakes during a visit to Cardiff Castle in January 2018
The late Queen Elizabeth II (pictured at Harry and Meghan’s wedding) was respectful towards her staff members and allegedly had some stern words of advice for the bride-to-be
‘Suddenly the Queen walked in and said: “Meghan, in this family we don’t speak to people like that.”‘
This would not be the last time Meghan’s treatment of staff would come to the attention of the Queen.
According to royal historian Hugo Vickers, there was ‘trouble’ while Harry and Meghan, now a married couple, were living at Frogmore Cottage – close to Windsor Castle – between 2019 and March 2020.
In one incident, the Duchess of Sussex was allegedly so rude to an under gardener that the head gardener in Windsor felt the need to complain to the late Queen, who is said to have then drove over to Meghan to give her a dressing down.
‘The head gardener went to complain to the Queen and she told her off because she obviously didn’t like people being rude to staff,’ Mr Vickers told The Sun.
During her time as a working royal, Meghan developed somewhat of a reputation for being rude to staff – so much so that there is talk of a ‘Sussex Survivors Club’.
The group allegedly comprises disgruntled ex-employees who worked for the Sussexes and ‘lived to tell the tale’, according to the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English.
Former staff members were alleged to have post-traumatic stress disorder, defined by the NHS as an anxiety disorder caused by very distressing or frightening events.
Meghan Markle thought she could ‘taste egg’ in a dish that was meant to be ‘vegan’ and ‘macrobiotic’, according to Katie Nicholl
The Queen looks on during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 208
The Duchess of Sussex sits with the Queen during a visit in Widnes on June 14, 2018
Windsor Castle where Meghan allegedly berated a caterer
Melissa Touabti reportedly resigned as she was ‘traumatised’ by her boss’s behaviour, according to historian Robert Lacey.
The Frenchwoman worked for Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field, before becoming Meghan’s assistant and was said to have ‘played a pivotal role in the success of the Royal Wedding’.
Writing in his book Battle of Brothers, Lacey describes how Meghan allegedly asked Touabti to ‘order some personally embroidered red blankets for the guests at a Sandringham shooting party that the American actress was hosting for a group of Harry’s friends’.
The royal biographer continued: ‘When the blankets arrived, however, they were not the right shade of red for Meghan, and by several accounts the duchess “went mental” at her hapless PA.’
As a result, the ‘hugely talented’ Touabti resigned just six months after the big day at St George’s Chapel.
In 2018, the Duchess of Sussex was subject to an internal investigation after her communications secretary Jason Knauf wrote to Prince William’s private secretary Simon Case, in an email which was later leaked to the media.
In it, he detailed Meghan’s alleged ‘totally unacceptable’ treatment of staff.
‘I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,’ he wrote. ‘The duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights.
Melissa Touabti (right) worked for Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field (left) before becoming Meghan’s assistant
Jason Knauf (left) follows Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017. He started working for William and Catherine as the chief executive of their Royal Foundation in 2019
‘She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.’
The Times reported that the ‘febrile’ atmosphere within Kensington Palace saw staff, on occasion, weeping. Two say they were bullied by the duchess, a third that they had been ‘humiliated’ by her.
The newspaper quoted one aide, who was anticipating a confrontation with Meghan, as saying: ‘I can’t stop shaking.’
In a bombshell interview with 60 Minutes Australia in February of this year, Knauf said he ‘wouldn’t change anything’ about the leak of his emails alleging bullying by Meghan.
Reflecting on the media firestorm, he said: ‘I think it’s tough, but it’s probably quite good. You know someone who has been helping other people through how to deal with the public eye. You probably had to take your own medicine sometimes.’
He went in on what many viewed as a thinly veiled swipe at the Sussexes, saying: ‘You can’t choose just to take the fun stuff in any job. And that applies to the Prince and Princess as well as everyone else working for them. So I wouldn’t change anything.’
Meghan has always denied the allegations of bullying, which she described as a ‘calculated smear campaign’ against her.
In response to allegedly driving two PAs out of Kensington Palace, Meghan’s spokesman said: ‘The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.
Former aide Jason Knauf said he ‘wouldn’t change anything’ about his allegations against Meghan
Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 2023
‘She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.’
Amid the bullying allegations fuelled by his leaked email, Knauf would officially jump ship and become a special adviser to William and Catherine.
But it was not just Meghan who allegedly drove staff away.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson claimed in his book Charles at Seventy, which was serialised in the Daily Mail, that Meghan’s wedding preparations were so stressful that Harry became ‘petulant and short-tempered’ with staff.
Jobson wrote: ‘Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist, “What Meghan wants, she gets”.’
Additionally, the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English said she has ‘personally witnessed more than one member of staff driven to tears by the treatment they were subjected to by the Duke and Duchess before the couple acrimoniously quit as working royals’.
One person sobbed down the phone to me after a particularly harrowing day,’ English wrote.
‘They clearly felt emotionally broken and could no longer cope with the pressure they were being subjected to.’
Meghan and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany in September 2023
The established royal journalist continued: ‘Others have indicated to me they were being asked to behave in a manner they did not feel professionally comfortable with, particularly in their dealings with the media.
‘Several aides have also told me that Meghan in particular was very good at ‘drawing’ staff into her confidence, flattering them as if they were the only person in the world she could trust and asking them to help her with various duties.
‘Toxic, hostile, distrustful, poisonous: all words I have heard regularly used over the past few years to describe people’s experiences working in the Sussexes’ household.’
