King Charles is a ‘demanding boss’ with ‘a fierce temper and ferocious work ethic’

By Vanessa Allen for Daily Mail

The Duchess of Sussex believed her marriage to Prince Harry would make her ‘the Beyoncé of the UK’, a new book claims.

The ex-actress thought life within the royal family would bring celebrities and “kudos” similar to the American singer, but hadn’t appreciated the rules and responsibility that came with her new role, it was alleged.

A palace source quoted in the book, excerpts released yesterday, said it was “inevitable” that Meghan would not fit into the tightly regulated world of the Royal Household, claiming that aides found it difficult to work with her. Others said she felt she wanted to be “rejected” from the royal family so she could return to the US and earn money.

A palace insider said: “I think Meghan thought she was going to be the Beyonce of the UK. Being part of the royal family would give her kudos.

“Whereas she found that there were so many rules that were so ridiculous that she couldn’t even do the things she could do as a private person, which is hard.”

The insider criticized the palace’s handling of the Megxit negotiations, after the couple said they wanted to live abroad and said they were “incredibly incompetent.” But another former assistant said conversations were “an impossible task.”

The source said: “I think in Meghan and the household you had two worlds that had no experience with each other, had no way of interacting, had no way of understanding each other.

“Meghan would never fit into that model and that model would never tolerate the Meghan Meghan wanted to be. So I think it was inevitable that they wouldn’t be able to work together.”

The deterioration between the pair and their palace team is detailed in a book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Throne, by journalist Valentine Low. Serials in The Times set out allegations about Harry and Meghan’s behavior towards their aides, including allegations that the Duchess reduced some of the staff to tears.

Sources told the author that Meghan’s team called her a “narcissistic sociopath” and later referred to herself as the Sussex Survivors’ Club – a nickname first revealed by the Mail last year.

Core members would include the couple’s private secretary, Samantha Cohen.

The book contains allegations that Miss Cohen was ‘bullied’, claiming that a source once said, ‘Sam has always made it clear that it was like working for some teenagers.

“They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable.’ Meghan’s lawyers have always denied that Ms Cohen was being bullied, claiming the allegations are part of a smear campaign.

They added that the couple were always grateful to Miss Cohen for her support and dedication. The Duchess has categorically denied bullying. The book stated that several assistants felt they had been manipulated by the former actress and said, “We were being played.”

A former staff member told Low: “She [Meghan] wanted to be rejected because she was obsessed with that story from day one.” The Megxit crisis unfolded in 2020 after the Duke and Duchess said they wanted to leave Britain but remain in the service of the royal family. But the Queen eventually decided that they could only perform official duties if they adhered to the same restrictions as other senior royals.

The Sussexes decided they wanted to build a new life in California and make lucrative contracts with companies like Netflix and Spotify. A source who knows Harry well said Meghan had shown the prince “the greatest kindness”. They said, ‘We knew he was unhappy, but we didn’t really know what the solution would be.

“She came by and found the solution.” Earlier excerpts from the book claimed Meghan whined about the public appointments and walkabouts expected of a senior royal, saying, “I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this.” Harry is also said to have sent “terrible emails” to both the Queen’s private secretary and Charles. The book claimed that Sussex staff wanted to help the couple, but eventually came to believe that Meghan had always wanted to leave the royal family so she could return to the US.

The couple has not yet responded to the book.

Palace assistants believed the Duchess of Sussex deliberately laid a “trail of evidence” as she carefully plotted her departure from the royal family, a new book claims.

It claims that her aides – who called themselves the “Sussex Survivors’ Club” after Meghan and Harry gave up their roles – called the Duchess a “narcissistic sociopath.”

Excerpts from Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown by Valentine Low were published last night by The Sunday Times.

The book chronicles the Sussex’s deteriorating relationship with their staff – a “succession of…decent people” who had believed in Meghan and “would have done anything” to help the couple succeed.

But it claims aides came to believe Meghan’s departure was premeditated and that “one of” [her] concern was whether she would be able to make money for herself’.

One ex-employee told the author, “She wanted to be rejected because she was obsessed with that story from day one.”

And sources said her team reportedly repeatedly said of her, “We were played.”

Extracts show that Mrs. Cohen, who had 17 years of experience at the palace, often told Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, and Clive Alderton, Charles’s private secretary, that if it all went wrong, the palace would need proof. of the duty of care it had shown Harry and Meghan.

The duty of care was crucial. ‘[Sam] was a broken record with them on that,’ said a source.

The book cites a source saying that Ms. Cohen was “bullied” and that nothing she did was ever good enough for the couple. It is said that a source once said: ‘Sam [Cohen] always made it clear that it was like working for some teenagers. They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable.’

The Duchess’s lawyers denied last year that Ms Cohen had been bullied and said the couple were always grateful for her support and dedication.

They have also long described such allegations as “extremely inaccurate” and that the Duchess has “absolutely denied” having bullied anyone.

While a Buckingham Palace investigation concluded that it would assess how it would treat bullying, it did not say that Meghan had actually bullied anyone.

According to the book, tensions were exacerbated by Harry and Meghan’s “deteriorating relationship with Alderton and Young.”

Royal biographer Robert Lacey said: “Meghan came to see Young as the inflexible, bureaucratic figure who summed up what [wrong] with the BP [Buckingham Palace] mentality, and the feeling was mutual. Young was beginning to dislike Meghan’s style.”

Harry was as disdainful of the two senior courtiers as Meghan was. An insider said: ‘He sent them horrible emails. So rude.’

Their escape plans were drawn up in the greatest secrecy.

The book says, “When Harry and Meghan went to Canada for their six-week vacation in November 2019… Meghan wouldn’t even tell their nanny Lorren where they were going.”

Meghan confided to a member of her staff that the couple would not be back, according to the book, but others only found out in January 2020.

“They had a hard time accepting being dumped…” the book says. “Some were in tears.”