Buckingham Palace won’t reveal findings of bullying inquiry after claims against Meghan Markle

Current and former staff were asked to share their experiences of working with the Duchess of Sussex, when she was a full-time working member of the Royal Family, reports Royal Editor Chris Ship

Buckingham Palace has refused to release the findings of its own inquiry into the handling of allegations of bullying made against the Duchess of Sussex.

Royal aides say that the investigation has been completed and led to “improvements” in its own HR policies but it won’t reveal what has changed or how.

A senior palace source said the confidentiality of those individuals who took part in the inquiry was paramount.

It’s understood Meghan Markle was among those who submitted a response to the review.

Current and former staff were asked to share their experiences of working with the Duchess of Sussex, when she was a full-time working member of the Royal Family.

The Palace launched an independent review using an outside legal firm after some staff claimed they had been bullied by the duchess before she and Harry quit the Royal Family in March 2020.

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The review was privately funded and did not involve any public funds from the Sovereign Grant so royal aides insisted the findings would remain private.

However, the conclusions have been shared with senior members of the Royal Family and the most senior private secretaries.

A royal source did admit “there were some recommendations which came through for changes in our policies and procedures” and the HR guidelines would be “regularly reviewed”.

The claims were made shortly before Harry and Meghan’s television interview with Oprah Winfrey was broadcast in which the couple accused an unnamed member of the royal family of being “racist”.

Buckingham Palace has released the annual Sovereign Grant report - the money which comes from the public purse through profits from the Crown Estate.

It revealed that the Royal household had not yet met its own targets for the number of staff it employs from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The palace is committed to a target of 10% by the end of 2022.

The latest figures show that 9.6% of household staff are from ethnic minorities.

A senior aide said they had hoped to have exceeded the 10% target at this point but remained hopeful it would be achieved by the end of the year.

Clarence House, which runs the office of Prince Charles and Camilla, said 10.6% of its staff are from minority communities.

The equivalent figure for Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate’s office, is 13.6%.