Samanatha Cohen, Meghan Markle. Getty Images (2)
Former royal aide Samantha Cohen confirmed she was interviewed about the bullying claims made against Meghan Markle.
In an interview with The Herald Sun published on Saturday, April 13, Cohen, 54, revealed that she was one of 10 royal staff members who were questioned about the allegations made against Meghan, now 42, that came to light in 2021. While Cohen didn’t offer any details about the interview, she claimed that Meghan and Prince Harry had a hard time finding staff members to stay on for an extended period.
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“I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18,” she said to the outlet. “We couldn’t find a replacement for me, and when we did, we took them on tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to show them the ropes. But they [quit], as well, while in Africa.”
Cohen had been on the royal family’s staff for nearly two decades, as she served as a member of the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s staff. Throughout her tenure, Cohen worked as Elizabeth’s press secretary, assistant and private secretary. In 2019, she joined Harry, now 39, and Meghan’s team after the queen requested her to do so.
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In March 2021, the Times reported that Meghan was accused of bullying Palace aides in 2018 while she and Harry were still working members of the royal family. (The couple stepped down from their roles in 2020 and relocated to California, where they still live with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.)
Meghan Markle, Samanatha Cohen. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
The outlet claimed that Harry and Meghan’s then communications secretary, Jason Knauf, lodged a complaint with Prince William’s private secretary, alleging that Meghan drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staffer. Meghan vehemently denied the allegations and slammed the publication.
“Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” Meghan and Harry’s communications team said in a statement to the Times. “We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”
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More than one year later, Buckingham Palace announced in June 2022 that their investigation of the claims made against Meghan had concluded but they were not making the results public.
A source told Us Weekly at the time that Meghan and Harry were “disappointed” that the results would “not be shared.” However, an additional source told Us that Meghan felt like her name had been cleared by the investigation.
“Meghan is a fair boss and never bullied anyone who worked for her at the Palace in the first place. She’s happy that her name has been cleared from the defamatory claims,” the insider exclusively told Us. “She and Harry are looking forward to putting the incident behind them and are happily moving on with their lives in Montecito.”
Us Weekly
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