Palace response to bullying claims against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, shows family still comes first

No one was expecting the bullying report to be published in full. But the decision to renege on a promise to publish consequential changes to the Royal household’s HR policies in Thursday’s annual Sovereign Grant report represents more than a missed opportunity for “The Firm”.

If the investigation has led to the Royal household “improving the policies and procedures” in its HR department, then why not share those with the public?

The decision, instead, to bury any lessons that might have been learned flies in the face of the Queen’s longstanding mantra that the monarchy should be as open as possible and not, as the Duke of Edinburgh once put it, “some sort of secret society”.

‘Men in grey suits have a lot to answer for’

It also seems to confirm initial suspicions of an all-pervading “nothing to see here” policy that protects principals at the expense of the people who serve them.

When he submitted a complaint in Oct 2018, Jason Knauf cautioned: “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.” After questioning whether “the household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals”, he appears to have been largely ignored – despite his insistence that Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR, “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious”.

As one source put it when the allegations finally came to light in March 2021, shortly before the Sussexes’s Oprah Winfrey interview: “I think the problem is not much happened with it. It was ‘How can we make this go away?’, rather than addressing it.”

Another added: “All the men in grey suits … have a lot to answer for, because they did absolutely nothing to protect people.”

It was only when the accusations were plastered across the front pages two-and-a-half years after Mr Knauf sent his email that Buckingham Palace instructed outside lawyers to probe the claims.

A spokesman said at the time: “Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learnt. The Royal household has had a dignity at work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”

Yet there has never been a clear explanation of what processes are put in place when the finger of blame is pointed at a member of the House of Windsor.

The Duchess – and by association, the Duke – are not the first Royals to be accused of bullying, and probably won’t be the last if the Palace continues to be opaque about the measures that have been put in place to insulate employees from Royal bosses who appear to transcend the HR department.

The Palace insists that because the Queen privately funded the independent legal inquiry, then the findings should not be published in the annual review as it only details the 96-year-old monarch’s public funding.

It also argues that any publication would compromise the confidentiality of those involved, even though sources have indicated that some of the alleged victims would not have any objection to being named.

The decision could perhaps also reflect the risk-averseness of an institution faced not only with the threat of legal action from the Sussexes, but talk of another interview with Winfrey, not to mention Prince Harry’s forthcoming warts-and-all autobiography.

The couple were not invited to participate in the inquiry, but the Duchess’s solicitor, Jenny Afia, a partner at the law firm Schillings, gave an interview to the BBC last year rebutting the claims. She said: “What bullying actually means is improperly using power repeatedly and deliberately to hurt someone, physically or emotionally. The Duchess of Sussex absolutely denies ever doing that. Knowing her as I do I can’t believe she would ever do that.”

‘Victims of a calculated smear campaign’

It came after a spokesman for the couple said they were the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. They said the Duchess was “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”.

Throughout the Megxit saga, the Queen has rightly reiterated that despite all that has been said and done, the Duke and Duchess “remain much loved members of the family”.

But in concealing the conclusions drawn from a probe into the behaviour of two of Her Majesty’s nearest and dearest, the Palace has left the Queen open to suggestions that she regards blood to be thicker than water when it comes to the treatment of her hard-working staff.