Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

'Lessons learned', but no details of royal review of Meghan bullying claims

'Lessons learned', but no details of royal review of Meghan bullying claims

Buckingham Palace says lessons have been learned following a review into bullying allegations made by royal staff against Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, although it declined to give any details about the report's conclusions.

The HR review was announced by the palace last March after the Times newspaper reported allegations had been made against Meghan, the American wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, including that she had reduced some of her assistants to tears and treated others so badly that they had quit.

The couple issued a statement in response denying she had bullied anyone, and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey shortly afterwards, she accused the palace of "perpetuating falsehoods".

Michael Stevens, the queen's treasurer who is known as Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the privately-funded review, which was carried out by an independent law firm, had been set up to examine the handling of the allegations and to improve practices across all the royal households.

"The review has been completed and recommendations on our policies and procedures have been taken forward," Stevens told reporters. "But we will not be commenting further."

The Times report said a senior aide to Harry and Meghan had 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.

"I think the objectives have been satisfied because lessons have been learned," a senior royal source said.

OVERSPEND


Stevens was speaking as he gave details of the annual report into the queen's taxpayer-funded spending and income, known as the Sovereign Grant, which was published on Thursday.

This showed that official expenditure for 2021-22 had been some 102 million pounds ($124 million), above the 86 million allocated for the royals' official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs of the 96-year-old queen's household.

Since 2017, the queen has received extra public money to pay for a 369 million pound 10-year refit of Buckingham Palace to replace ageing and dangerous electrical wiring and boilers, and Stevens said the royal household would draw upon reserves put aside in previous years to cover the additional outlay.

Another hit on the royal finances - which the palace says costs each Briton 1.29 pounds a year - was the reduction in additional money made mainly from ticket sales to visit royal palaces, down 50% at 10 million pounds compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, travel costs amounted to just under 2.5 million pounds, with the biggest expense being Prince William and his wife Kate's tour of the Caribbean which cost 226,383 pounds.

"We are realistic that there will always be a tension between the travel involved with fulfilling the head of state and head of nation role, and meeting our environmental aspirations," Stevens said. ($1 = 0.8231 pounds)

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Japanese Customer Sways from VW to BYD after “Unbelievable” Test Drive amid Dealership Expansion
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
White House Eyes Budapest for Peace Talks
Cave Diving Beneath the Streets of Budapest
Another American Restaurant Chain Opens in Budapest
Hungarian Opposition Politician Supports Ukrainian Commander
Opposition Leader Threatens Media Outlets
American Airlines Adds New Flights to Budapest
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Wraps Up
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
U.S. Trade Representative says Washington still negotiating trade deals after court rules tariffs illegal
Von der Leyen says Europe drawing up 'precise' plans to send troops to Ukraine
Kremlin accuses Europe of hindering Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine
×