The definitive timeline of Meghan Markle's "bullying" behavior

As promised, this week’s exclusive newsletter is the one I've been threatening to write for years: the complete case file against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Every allegation, in order.

Last week we asked whether finding Meghan annoying was a “her” problem or a “you” problem. This week we put the gravest version of that question on trial: not “is she irritating” but… “is she cruel?”

Let’s get into it.

• The Sun reports that during a “stressful” dress fitting for the Sussex wedding, “Meghan Markle left Kate Middleton in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.” Later, Meghan denies this, and during her interview with Oprah in 2021 says: “The reverse happened. She was upset about something. She owned it and bought me flowers.”

Although “recollections may vary,” neither the palace nor “palace sources” have ever rebutted Meghan’s correction of the events here.

• The Daily Mail reports that Kate Middleton was upset by the way Meghan treated her staff and “had told Meghan she shouldn’t speak to her staff so dismissively.”

This half-baked idea that Meghan and Harry “treated their staff badly” in the early days of their life together as senior royals—to the horror of the kind and benevolent Prince and Princess of Wales—has sprung up in various forms over the years. Most recently, it was repeated by Russell Myers in his recent book William and Catherine, in which he says:

“William and Catherine had worked hard to foster a good working relationship with their staff, encouraging relaxed dress codes, a young and vibrant team, and creating a motivating culture. By contrast, one former staff member recalled how when Meghan was told she would be in line for a royal title her excitement was palpable…”

I don’t quite understand the leap from “excitement at her new status” to “horrible boss and bully” there, but okay!

Myers goes on, at one point quoting a source with apparent knowledge of the dynamics at Kensington Palace in 2018:

“[William] saw what was happening and apologised on behalf of his brother on more than one occasion. [William and Catherine] had spent a considerable amount of time fostering a really nice and relaxed working atmosphere and in those few months it was utterly extinguished, people were leaving all the time, it was horrendous… ‘In one camp you had the people who cared, wanted those working in the household to enjoy themselves while working there, and on the other side it was something different every day. Nothing was ever good enough, there were constant complaints. It was exhausting.’”

• Later in 2018, Jason Knauf sends an email to Prince William’s private secretary detailing “serious concerns” about the Duchess of Sussex’s behavior towards staff: