Buckingham Palace refuses to publish investigation into Meghan’s bullying allegations

“Because of the confidentiality of the discussions, we did not communicate the detailed recommendations,” the official said. “Recommendations have been incorporated into policies and procedures where appropriate, and policies and procedures have changed.”

“I think the goals were achieved because lessons have been learned,” the official added. The palace did not explain what those lessons were or how their human resource policies had changed.

Buckingham Palace to investigate whether Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, bullied her staff

In March 2021, Buckingham Palace launched an investigation into allegations of bullying after an article in the London newspaper alleged that two of Meghan’s employees had been fired and a third was undercut.

At the time, Meghan’s lawyers denied the reports, calling them a “calculated smear campaign” and saying the Times of London He was “used by Buckingham Palace to spread a completely false narrative” about the Duchess. The reports appeared in the newspaper shortly before Meghan and Prince Harry met Oprah Winfrey.

The palace, which has never endorsed the allegations but said they were serious enough to investigate, said in a statement on Thursday that the investigation had ended and that “recommendations on our policies and procedures have been moved forward.” The palace said it would not publish the results of the review, which looked at how minors handled complaints — not details of the allegations themselves.

Royal watchers expected the review to be mentioned in the Sovereign Grant Report, the annual financial accounts of the monarchy’s spending and income published on Thursday.

According to the palace official, the investigation into the allegations of bullying was funded privately, and not from taxpayers’ money, which meant that it did not have to be included in the public accounts.

The Annual Report It showed that the British monarch’s official spending for the period 2021-2022 was about 124 million dollars, an increase of 17 percent over the previous fiscal year.

This exceeded $105 million in the Sovereign Grant – the pot of public money the British government provided to cover the costs of the Queen’s house and maintenance of the royal residences. The palace said royal finances cost $1.57 per person in the UK and that the bulk of its spending went towards major renovations at Buckingham Palace. The palace said the additional costs would be covered by reserves that had been set aside in previous years.

The calculations showed that the most expensive royal trip over the past year was the trip to the Caribbean by Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in March – which is being seen as a public relations disaster – which cost $274,000.

William and Kate tour the Caribbean to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee, chart anti-colonial protests, and demand reparations

Some said the costs seemed prohibitive, especially in the current economic climate with the cost of living crisis starting to pay off. Inflation in the UK exceeded 9% – the highest rate in 40 years. ‘100 million pounds for the royal family? Dominated,’ the Daily Mirror climbed on its site front page.

Michael Stephens, the Queen’s Treasurer, who is also called the custodian of the Queen’s private purse, said in a statement that the royal finances are also likely to tighten in the coming years.

“With the sovereign grant likely to stabilize in the next two years, inflationary pressures on operating costs and our ability to raise additional income will likely be constraining in the short term, we will continue to achieve our plans and manage these effects through our efforts and efficiencies.”