Expert Says Buckingham Palace Not Sharing Meghan Markle Bullying Accusations Report ‘Encourages People to Misbehave’
TL; DR:
- Buckingham Palace announced the findings of a report on the Meghan Markle bullying accusations won’t be released.
- The Keeper of the Privy purse cited privacy as the reason.
- An expert says the report should be released with names redacted because “transparency is a great cleanser.”
A report on the handling of the Meghan Markle bullying accusations has been completed. However, the findings are to remain private. According to an expert, it’s a mistake for Buckingham Palace because it’s likely to cause more problems.
Buckingham Palace announced a probe into the Meghan Markle bullying allegations had been completed
In a June 2022 news conference about the Royal Household’s finances, Michael Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, shared an update on the investigation. Stevens, treasurer to Queen Elizabeth II, said the company hired to do an independent investigation had completed its work.
Stevens didn’t offer up much in the way of details. He shared findings wouldn’t be released because those who cooperated did so under the promise of anonymity . Meanwhile, a royal expert opined Queen Elizabeth chose to keep the report under wraps to avoid more drama.
Additionally, Stevens noted recommendations were made to the palace’s human resources department and changes were made.
Allegations the Duchess of Sussex bullied palace staffers surfaced before she and Prince Harry’s Oprah interview aired in March 2021. A report in the U.K publication The Times cited a 2018 email from Jason Knauf, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s then-press secretary, in which Knauf alleged Meghan bullied two employees out of the workplace.
In the wake of the allegations, Meghan’s denied bullying palace staffers, pushing back against the claims through her lawyer.
An expert says Buckingham Palace should’ve released the report on the Meghan Markle bullying accusations with the names redacted
Speaking to Newsweek following the announcement, author and former U.K. government minister Norman Baker suggested keeping names out as another option.
“Of course, some people need to be protected, but you can do that by redacting the names,” he said. “That’s the standard way of doing things in Government.”
“There’s no way you shouldn’t publish the conclusions,” he added. “And was she a bully or wasn’t she? They could do a lot more.”
Furthermore, “transparency is a great cleanser,” Baker said. “Secrecy breeds arrogance and cover-ups and encourages people to misbehave. If you find things out all the time then people don’t misbehave.”
Not releasing the report’s findings may lead to different versions of what happened
Baker also noted keeping the findings private due to an “obsession with secrecy” could mean conflicting stories. One from Buckingham Palace and another from Meghan.
“The danger of this obsession with secrecy they have at the palace is you’re going to have one version of the story coming out from California and another in London,” he said.
“You won’t know what the truth is,” he said. For that reason, he said the palace would’ve been “much better” off publishing the findings immediately.
