It should not be forgotten: Kensington Palace was so desperate to smear the Duchess of Sussex ahead of the Oprah interview that they activated their fail-safe clown-play and accused her of bullying staffers. That’s how scared the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were that Meghan would tell all about everything they said and did to her. That’s why Jason Knauf plotted for years on this clownish scheme, even providing his dumb “paper trail” to the Times of London back in March. The backstory on Knauf’s role in the drama was that he wrote to Simon Case about how Meghan left white women in tears wherever she went, and KP staffers were apparently having daily meltdowns at the thought of working for someone who… did… something. What Meghan was actually being accused of was never clear, it was always purposefully and desperately vague.
Obviously, the “investigation” into Meghan’s “bullying” is still on-going, because the Windsors are still desperate to have something to hold over Meghan’s head in particular, to have something with which to smear her. The investigation was handed off to a law firm and Meghan’s lawyers have reportedly requested to give some receipts for how MEG was treated. The investigation won’t be done until next year, apparently. But in Finding Freedom;s new epilogue, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand point out something which was actually buried deep in the Times’ reporting at the time. That something? The people who actually submitted complaints about Meghan to Jason Knauf rescinded their complaints.
As a refresher, allegations against the Duchess of Sussex first came to light in an article by The Times this past March, just days before the couple’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. At the time, the piece reported that Meghan faced a bully complaint at Kensington Palace, claiming she “drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.”
The complaint was reportedly made in October 2018 by Jason Knauf, Meghan and Prince Harry’s communications secretary at the time, “seemingly in an effort to get Buckingham Palace to protect staff who he claimed were coming under pressure from the duchess. Prince Harry pleaded with Knauf not to pursue it, according to a source.”
According to Finding Freedom’s new epilogue, “sources confirmed that upon discovery of Jason [Knauf]‘s email, two of the individuals mentioned in the email asked for any allegations made to HR about their experiences with Meghan to be rescinded.”
The book also claims that no such meeting with Prince Harry took place. A spokesperson for the duke and duchess called the story a “calculated smear campaign” at the time, and Meghan’s close friend, actress Janina Gavankar, said as much in an attributed quote in Finding Freedom.
“They didn’t hide that fact. It was without doubt done intentionally to discredit the duchess,” Gavankar said. “I have known Meghan for 17 years, and I have seen the way she regards people around her and the people she works with, and I can say she is not a bully.”
Buckingham Palace has since launched an investigation into the claims, a move which sources shared in Finding Freedom was welcomed by the couple who hoped the process would “shed light on the reality of these rumors.”
The Times first reported that the investigation, which is being conducted by an independent law firm, may delay its verdict until next year. A source told ET at the time that the bullying investigation underway at Buckingham Place is still continuing.
Again, we heard that at the time, it was just buried in the hysterical, melodramatic reporting in March. I’m glad Scobie and Durand independently verified it and are underlining the point though. Those staffers were fine with smearing Meghan when nothing was on the record and their name wasn’t attached to the smear, but when Jason Knauf began pushing the bullying narrative, suddenly those staffers saw how the sh-t could hit the fan. And throughout it all, we’ve still never heard any actual story about what Meghan said or did which destroyed so many palace staffers’ lives. All we’ve heard is variations on “Meghan looked at someone” or “Meghan expected people to finish projects in a timely manner” or “Meghan made someone cry, don’t ask how or why.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
