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One of the closest aides to the late Queen has reportedly confirmed she was one of 10 courtiers who were interviewed over claims Meghan Markle ‘bullied’ Palace staff.
Samantha Cohen, who was nicknamed ‘Samantha the panther’ for her no-nonsense attitude, served as Queen Elizabeth’s press secretary for 17 years and then as her assistant and private secretary.
She stepped away from working for the Royal household in 2019 after a stint as the private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Ms Cohen resigned after being ‘treated harshly’ and likening the job to ‘working with teenagers’, according to historian Valentine Low in his book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown.
Samantha Cohen, who was one of the closest aides to the late Queen, has reportedly confirmed she was one of 10 courtiers who were interviewed over claims Meghan Markle ‘bullied’ Palace staff. Above: Ms Cohen at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018
In an interview with Australian outlet the Herald Sun, Ms Cohen confirmed that she was one of 10 aides interviewed by the Palace after a bullying complaint was raised by Harry and Meghan’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, in 2018.
However, she refused to make any further comment about the complaint, which was strenuously denied by the Duchess of Sussex’s legal team.
Ms Cohen was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018 and is believed to have helped play a key role in preparing Meghan for a garden party at Buckingham Palace, which was her first appearance as the Duchess of Sussex.
Mr Knauff had alleged to the Palace’s human resources department that Meghan bullied two PA’s ‘out of the household’ within the space of a year and was targeting other female staff.
He said in an email leaked to The Times he was also concerned about Ms Cohen.
He indicated that she was experiencing extreme stress and said: ‘I questioned if the Household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals (the term used to refer to a member of the royal family)’.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, Harry railed against the bullying claims, saying: ‘It was so outrageous that even though Meg and I demonstrated their lie with a 25-page report to human resources full of evidence, it was going to be very hard for me to ignore it.’
The final report by the Palace was kept private to protect those taking part.
Ms Cohen, who was nicknamed ‘Samantha the panther’ for her no-nonsense attitude, served as Queen Elizabeth’s press secretary for 17 years and then as her assistant and private secretary. She stepped away from working for the Royal household in 2019 after a stint as the private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Above: Ms Cohen is seen behind the Queen and Meghan at a ceremony to open the Mersey Gateway Bridge in Widnes in June 2018
Prince Harry, right, and wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, arrive for the 2024 Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Wellington, Florida, last week
According to The Times, Mr Knauff told Simon Case – who was then Prince William’s private secretary and is now Cabinet Secretary – in 2018 that he was ‘very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable.’
He added: ‘The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence.
‘We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.’
The bullying allegations emerged just days before Harry and Meghan’s incendiary interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Representatives for the duchess said the allegations were ‘being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative based on misleading and harmful misinformation’.
One former employee told the newspaper that they had been personally ‘humiliated’ by the duchess.
It was claimed that staff would be reduced to tears. One aide told a colleague in anticipation of a confrontation with the duchess: ‘I can’t stop shaking.’
An aide was reported saying it felt ‘more like emotional cruelty and manipulation, which I guess could also be called bullying’.
Sources claimed that little appeared to have been done to address the complaints.
One was quoted as saying: ‘The institution just protected Meghan constantly. All the men in grey suits who she hates have a lot to answer for, because they did absolutely nothing to protect people.’
Meghan’s lawyer, Jenny Afia, said that the allegations were ‘absolutely untrue’ and did not match her experience of her.
Meghan’s friend Janina Gavankar said ‘I have known her for 17 years and I have seen the way that she regards the people around her and I can say she’s not a bully.’
A statement from Buckingham Palace said after the bullying claims emerged: ‘We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
‘Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article.
‘Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned.
‘The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.’
A bullying complaint was raised by Harry and Meghan’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, in 2018. Above: Mr Knauff with Prince William on being made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in May last year
Ms Cohen also told the Herald Sun how Queen Elizabeth ‘loved it’ when things went wrong because it ‘spiced her life up’.
She said: ‘The Queen had no ego, she was so comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong.
‘If a cake was not cutting, or a plaque didn’t unveil, because everything was so perfectly organised, it spiced her life up when things went wrong.’
Ms Cohen, who said the Queen was a ‘special woman’ whom she misses, added the ‘best times’ were accompanying the monarch on her two royal tours to South Australia and Queensland in 2002 and 2011.
Originally from Brisbane in Australia, Ms Cohen started her career as a journalist on the Sunshine Coast Daily in Australia before working for the Australian government.
She is now working as chief of staff for the global chief executive of the mining giant Rio Tinto.
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