Meghan Markle's Former Aide Confirms She Struggled to Find Staffers for Duchess of Sussex
Meghan Markle's former aide Samantha Cohen is shedding some light onto the allegations that the Duchess of Sussex "bullied" her staff.
In a new interview, Cohen confirmed she was one of 10 royal employees who was part of Buckingham Palace's 2021 investigation.
Meghan Markle's former aide admitted it was hard to find staffers for her.
Cohen — who worked for Queen Elizabeth II for more than 15 years before taking on the Sussexes and then quitting in 2019 — stayed tight-lipped on the details of the ordeal, but she did hint that the Suits alum and Prince Harry may have been difficult to work for.
"I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18 — we couldn’t find a replacement for me," she told an Australian news outlet, "and when we did, we took them on tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to show them the ropes, but they left [quit] as well while in Africa."
In 2021, the actress was accused of bullying employees.
The allegations against Meghan came via a report from The Times right before her and Harry's televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, where they both shaded the royal family.
Amongst the bullying accusations was a staffer who claimed she once broke down in tears due to the way Meghan treated her.
In Valentine Low's book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, she detailed how one employee was always scared to interact with the Sussexes.
"There were a lot of broken people. Young women were broken by her [and Prince Harry's] behaviour," a source told the author.
One staffer confessed she felt "terrified" when she had to call Meghan over a situation involving an incident with the press. "This is so ridiculous. I can’t stop shaking," she reportedly told her colleagues before picking up the phone.
The couple left the monarchy in 2020.
Meghan denied the claims, with her rep calling them "a smear campaign" and noting the mom-of-two is "saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself."
Buckingham Palace conducted the investigation privately, and upon conclusion, announced their findings would not be made public. "The review has been completed and recommendations on our policies and procedures have been taken forward," a statement at the time read. "But we will not be commenting further."
The mom-of-two denied the bullying allegations.
Nonetheless, Low said last year that the accusers stand by their claims.
"The people I spoke to are absolutely still sticking to their story, claiming that Meghan bullied them," she told a news outlet. "I can’t speak to the truth of that, of course, because I wasn’t in the room and I haven’t heard Meghan’s side. But my sources still very much stick to their story."
Herald Sun spoke with Cohen.