Richard Kay said Buckingham Palace’s decision to keep details about the review into claims of bullying of Meghan Markle secret showed it was “peace at any price”. He said it was clear “peace with the Sussexes” was “preferable” than lessons being learned at the Palace following the 2018 allegations.
Writing for the Daily Mail, he said: “Fast forward to June 2022 and now the sound of derision is becoming uncomfortably loud. Fifteen months after the matter became public and a little short of four years since the bullying claims were first privately raised, it is clear that the allegations are still being buried.
“The Palace’s internal inquiry into how claims of Meghan’s ‘belittling’ behaviour were handled, which was announced in March last year (albeit with no focus on any specific allegations), will, conveniently, not be made public.
“This appears to mean that peace with the Sussexes — a peace at any price — is preferable to showing what lessons might have been learned from the whole shabby episode.
“As one exasperated old Palace hand told me: ‘Once again, the public will think it’s a case of how can we make this go away rather than actually addressing it.’
“It remains to be seen if this approach is enough to stem a rising chorus of criticism.”
It comes after Buckingham Palace said lessons had been learned following a review into bullying allegations made by royal staff against the Duchess of Sussex, although it declined to give any details about the report’s conclusions.
READ MORE: Levin fumes at royals for keeping Meghan bullying inquiry secret
He said: “The review has been completed and recommendations on our policies and procedures have been taken forward.
“But we will not be commenting further.”
The Palace has not indicated any reasons why the report cannot be made public.
A senior aide to Harry and Meghan is understood to have raised a complaint in October 2018 alleging that the duchess had bullied some of her assistants, and that the prince had urged the aide to drop the issue which then never progressed.
The palace ordered a review, saying it was “very concerned”, and all those who participated, including current and former staff members, have been informed of its outcome.
Royal sources declined to say whether the duchess herself had been involved.
The duchess’ lawyers denied the allegations when they were made.
A senior royal source said: “I think the objectives have been satisfied because lessons have been learned.”
