Meghan Markle’s former U.K. employees called her a “demon” boss prone to “psycho moments,” and also said they feel “vindicated” by a Vanity Fair report alleging some of Markle’s American staffers needed therapy after working for her via The Daily Beast.
The former employees also spoke to the Daily Beast in September after Meghan’s team orchestrated a feature in Us Weekly and claimed that she was a great boss, on the heels of an article in The Hollywood Reporter described her as a “demon in high heels.”
Responding to the Vanity Fair report, a former employee told the Daily Beast: “I am surprised that people spoke out, but I am not surprised by the content of their allegations. It seems like nothing has changed. There is not really much more to say.”
Another added, “I feel desperately sorry for the people affected, because I have been there, but I also feel vindicated.” The source said that people claiming Markle is the “world’s greatest boss should be ashamed of themselves.”
They added, “It’s obviously very tempting to work for her when you are being wooed and love-bombed, but people should be in no doubt; she is a nightmare. I would think the atmosphere will be particularly hellish now everything is going to s–t. She doesn’t do disappointment well.”
The Us Weekly noted the contributions from her head of PR (who is, cynics noted, paid to make Meghan look good) and other staffers. One said Meghan “loved” her employees like a “parent,” another told how she gave them bundles of freshly cut flowers and home-laid eggs. A third source claimed Meghan made her staff feel like they were seeds being watered.
In response to the claims, a former courtier told the Daily Beast in September: “There definitely were bad, very bad, even psycho moments. I witnessed people being chewed up in person and over the phone and made to feel like s–t.”
Another source, a member of the so-called “Sussex Survivors Club,” told the Daily Beast in September:
“I always thought she was a classic narcissist and getting her staff to tell a magazine how amazing she is only confirms that in my mind. She is lovely when it is all going her way but a demon when the worm turns.”
Vanity Fair’s account of Markle’s management skills saw similar claims, with an ex-employee alleging that Meghan’s relationships with staff tend to be “warm and effusive” until something goes wrong. At that stage, Meghan will become “cold and withholding.”
The source told Vanity Fair that working for Markle was “really, really, really awful. Very painful. Because she’s constantly playing checkers—I’m not even going to say chess—but she’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board. And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment.”
When I reported Meghan wasn’t always very nice to staff, I was called a “liar” and a “racist”. Now it’s a Vanity Fair cover story. Funny old world 🤣 https://t.co/589uc7KBkX
— Camilla Tominey (@CamillaTominey) January 18, 2025