Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Private Secretary Compared Working for Them to ‘Dealing With Teenagers,’ Book Claims

There have been several claims made over the years that being on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s staff before they stepped down as senior royals wasn’t the easiest job. And now a book by The Times journalist Valentine Low is digging into those allegations and exposing what staffers allegedly went through and thought when they worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Here’s more on that including why Queen Elizabeth II‘s longtime employee reportedly compared dealing with Meghan and Harry to “dealing with a couple of teenagers.”

Who is Harry and Meghan’s former employee Samantha Cohen?

Samantha Cohen was born on Jan. 16, 1970, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is an Australian member of the Royal Victorian Order as a commander and worked in the royal household for 18 years. Cohen started out in a junior position with Queen Elizabeth’s press office in 2001. She later moved up to become the head of royal communications.

The woman nicknamed “Samantha the Panther” then worked as assistant and deputy private secretary to the queen for eight years and was one of the monarch’s most trusted aides. In 2018, she became the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ private secretary.

Author claims Cohen said dealing with the couple was like ‘dealing with teenagers’

Low, who authored the book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, spoke about how Cohen was allegedly treated when she became Meghan and Harry’s press secretary and why she compared working for them to “dealing with teenagers.”

“When she started, Harry knew her well, and liked her and she liked Harry,” Low said during an episode of Palace Confidential. “Sam is an incredible problem solver, she’s a can-do personality and she just found it really difficult. She was asked to do things that a private secretary wouldn’t normally be asked to do and I think she was treated harshly. She was shouted at by Meghan … [and] said that dealing with them was like dealing with a couple of teenagers.”

Low added that a source told him Cohen felt that “[The Sussexes] were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable.”

Cohen resigned from her role with the royals in 2019.

Others who worked for the pair call themselves the ‘Sussex Survivors Club’

In Low’s book, he also alleges that several former members of Harry and Meghan’s staff who claim they were bullied collectively referred to themselves as the “Sussex Survivors Club.”

“So bad did things eventually become that Harry and Meghan’s team would later refer to themselves as the Sussex Survivors Club,” Low wrote, adding, “Sources say the team came up with a damning epithet for Meghan: a ‘narcissistic sociopath.’”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have denied the claims that they bullied staffers calling the allegations a “smear campaign.”