A source close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claims that “Everyone’s terrified of Meghan,” in a new tell-all published by The Hollywood Reporter last week. The insider believes that Markle is the main reason for all the turnover in the Archewell organization since the Sussexes left their royal duties and moved to the U.S. They said that she is difficult to work with, explaining all the high-level advisers that have left her employ over the last four years.
“She belittles people, she doesn’t take advice,” they said. “They’re both poor decision-makers, they change their minds frequently. Harry is a very, very charming person โ no airs at all โ but he’s very much an enabler. And she’s just terrible.” The report linked this quote to the self-styled “Sussex Survivors Club,” which is apparently a private nickname for some of the former employees of Markle and Archewell who still keep in touch. It’s unclear who exactly counts themselves as a member of this club, but the report lists several prominent figures who have left their jobs there, including chief of staff Josh Kettler, who quit just last month.
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Other figures included in this story are former press secretary Toya Holness, former PR head Christine Weil Schirmer and Markle’s top personal aid Samantha Cohen. There are several other names in the report as well, all working for either the family’s personal staff, the Archewell brand or Markle’s reps as an actress before the royal wedding.
The report also calls to mind the 2018 incident when Markle was accused of “bullying behavior” against two royal aides in Buckingham Palace. At the time, the palace launched an investigation into the issue, while Markle denounced it as a “calculated smear campaign.” Another source told THR that it’s true, and that Markle had the nickname “Duchess Difficult” behind the scenes at the palace. They went on: “She’s absolutely relentless. She marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders. I’ve watched her reduce grown men to tears.”
Markle’s rep declined to comment on this report, and it has proven to be divisive on social media. While some commenters find it to be an interesting new angle on the story, others see it as a rehash of old talking points and a game of “he said, she said.” Contradictory reports about Markle’s behavior and personality have permeated the coverage of her time as a royal, often with questions of subconscious racist biases underpinning the whole discussion. So far, the royal family has not commented on this new report either.