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NY Post

Former Meghan Markle aide breaks silence on bullying allegations, claims staff quit on her

Erin Keller
3 min read
Meghan Markle Aide Breaks Silence on Bullying Allegations
Meghan Markle Aide Breaks Silence on Bullying Allegations
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Meghan Markle’s former royal aide, Samantha Cohen, has finally confirmed she was one of 10 royal staffers to be interviewed in Buckingham Palace’s investigation into bullying accusations leveled against the Duchess of Sussex.

Cohen worked for the royal family since 2001 and was Markle’s private secretary in 2021 when the first complaint was made that the former “Suits” star created a hostile work environment.

Although she would not elaborate in an interview with the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, Cohen, an Aussie, told the outlet Monday, “I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18 — 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 left (quit) as well while in Africa.”

Meghan Markle attends the final day of the One Year to Go Event before the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 at the Vancouver Curling Club. MEGA
Meghan Markle attends the final day of the One Year to Go Event before the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 at the Vancouver Curling Club. MEGA
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as she presents his polo team with the trophy for winning the Royal Salute Polo Challenge to Benefit Sentebale on April 12. AP
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as she presents his polo team with the trophy for winning the Royal Salute Polo Challenge to Benefit Sentebale on April 12. AP

Cohen stopped working for the royals in 2019.

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The Post has contacted reps for Markle and Buckingham Palace for comment.

The allegations came just days before Markle and Prince Harry sat down for their bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey — in which the American Orchard Riviera founder claimed life in the royal family was “almost unsurvivable.”

Samantha Cohen, then assistant private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, attends the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. Getty Images
Samantha Cohen, then assistant private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, attends the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. Getty Images
Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth II — accompanied by Samantha Cohen (center), then private secretary to Prince Harry and Meghan, and former assistant private secretary to the Queen — attend a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018, in Widnes, England. Getty Images
Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth II — accompanied by Samantha Cohen (center), then private secretary to Prince Harry and Meghan, and former assistant private secretary to the Queen — attend a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018, in Widnes, England. Getty Images
Members of the royal family gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2018. AP
Members of the royal family gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2018. AP

The HR review was privately funded by Queen Elizabeth II and carried out by an independent investigator in March 2021 after two royal staffers alleged they’d been bullied while working for her.

Markle’s legal team denied any allegations of bullying — calling them a “calculated smear campaign.” Allegations included Markle making her assistants cry and treating others so badly that they quit.

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The investigation concluded in June 2022, and while a senior royal aide claimed the findings resulted in changes, they also said the findings won’t ever be made public.

The bullying accusations came before Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Winfrey interview. VIA REUTERS
The bullying accusations came before Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Winfrey interview. VIA REUTERS
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrive at Grand Champions Polo in Wellington, Fla., on April 12. THOMAS CORDY/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrive at Grand Champions Polo in Wellington, Fla., on April 12. THOMAS CORDY/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK

“The review has been completed and recommendations on our policies and procedures have been taken forward,” Michael Stevens, the Queen’s treasurer, said during a briefing at the time. “But we will not be commenting further.”

“I think the objectives have been satisfied because lessons have been learned,” a senior royal source added.

Elsewhere in Cohen’s Herald Sun interview, she claimed the late Elizabeth “had no ego” yet “loved it when things went wrong.”

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