The Prince and Princess of Wales were reportedly left profoundly "shocked" and disturbed by a staggering rumour regarding Meghan Markle's behaviour towards Palace staff in the tense lead-up to her 2018 royal wedding.
While the world watched the seemingly perfect 'Fab Four' slowly unravel and inevitably fracture following Prince Harry and Meghan's dramatic 2020 exit from the Firm, insiders have long known that the cracks were starting to form much earlier. The Sussexes' wedding had various bombshell moments, including the infamous bridesmaid dress debacle between Catherine and Meghan.
But it has since emerged that an alleged incident involving the Duchess and her alleged treatment of shared royal employees was what truly caused William and Catherine to become uncertain about their new sister-in-law.
Alleged incident detailed in royal author's book
According to royal author Tina Brown in her book, The Palace Papers, the future King and Queen—who have always famously treated their loyal staff like an extension of their own family—were deeply unsettled by claims that Meghan had "yelled" at a junior employee.
Brown penned: "A typically uncomfortable incident had taken place during the roll-out of the wedding plans when I was told Meghan yelled at a junior employee who held an announcement back because it clashed with something scheduled with the household of another senior royal."
An insider, who was notably also a close friend of the late Princess Diana, reportedly told Brown that while they didn't classify Meghan's behaviour as outright bullying, the outburst was utterly unprecedented. They noted that they had "never heard of a member of the Royal Family talking like that to a member of staff".
Denials and estrangement
While Meghan has always vehemently denied any and all allegations of staff mistreatment during her time in the royal fold, the reported incident undeniably left a sour taste in the mouth.
Today, six years after Megxit, the two couples are believed to be completely estranged and no longer on speaking terms. Despite Harry slowly mending bridges with his father, King Charles, the bitter chasm between the warring royal brothers appears to remain as wide as ever.
