When Buckingham Palace launched an internal investigation into claims the Duchess of Sussex had bullied staffers during her time as a royal, many waited with bated breath for its findings.
At the time, Meghan labelled the March 2021 probe as the “latest attack on her character”. A year later, the findings were in – but the royal family declined to make them public.
At the time, a source told New Idea exclusively that Prince William was at the forefront of the decision to keep it confidential, despite huge public interest.
“William wanted to protect the staffers who had come forward,” says a source. “But it was also an act of self-preservation.”
![Prince William](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/01/gettyimages-2171321135-6792e46ff1e54-scaled.jpg?resize=1738%2C2560)
With the way Harry and Meghan were airing dirty family laundry left, right and centre, William felt releasing the report would only add to dragging down the family name.
But now, the story has resurfaced in the US. Earlier this month, Vanity Fair magazine, which was once pro-Sussex, released astonishing claims that appear to align with the 2021 allegations.
The magazine claims it spoke to dozens of people close to the Montecito-based couple over several months, and the results haven’t made for pretty reading.
![Mehgan and Harry Vanity Fair magazine cover](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/01/vanity-fair-6792e535e6155.jpg?resize=1440%2C1796)
Among the allegations were that Meghan was a “mean girl”, with some staffers being “thrown to the wolves,” while others needed “long-term therapy”.
One source told Vanity Fair that Meghan’s relationships with her employees follow a “familiar pattern”, explaining it always started well, but the minute anything went wrong, she would become “cold and withholding”.
Speaking to the reports of bullying behaviour during her time at Buckingham Palace (something Meghan has repeatedly strongly denied), another source said, “Oh, any given Tuesday this happened.”
For William, who warned Harry in the early days of his romance to take some time to get to know Meghan, having Vanity Fair publish its report about Meghan must, in some way, align with his personal feelings about his sister-in-law.
“It’s no secret that he and Meghan didn’t get along,” a royal insider tells New Idea.
“William can’t help but feel that he was right to be cautious.”
![Meghan Markle in green dress](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/10/GettyImages-1205332155-scaled.jpg?fit=650%2C1024&resize=1625%2C2560)
In addition to the allegations about her treatment of staff, the article also claimed Meghan was involved in conversations around a potential post-divorce book in the event of a split from Harry.
Vanity Fair also reported that Harry “hasn’t absorbed the gravity” of telling all about his family in his book Spare, and seemed to genuinely harbour hope of a reconciliation.
At the time New Idea published this article, the Sussexes had not responded to the report.
“William doesn’t take any pleasure in any of these allegations being made public,” our source says.
“But he can’t help but feel he made the right call on Meghan and was right to be wary of her.”