Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have insisted they should be involved in any ‘formal’ investigation over allegations that they bullied their staff, a source has claimed.
The probe, which is currently being billed as an ‘internal review’ by human resources, could hear evidence from up to 12 ten royal aides who worked for the couple.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not yet been contacted about the probe, which will be led by a human resources manager from the Royal Household.
Past and present staff will be invited to speak about their experiences, with the aim to improve human resources policies at the palace and see if lessons can be learnt.
However a palace aide told the Daily Telegraph that the Sussexes are unlikely to be involved or even told about the process, which has been labelled an ‘internal review’.
And a source close to Harry and Meghan said the couple, who now live in Montecito, California, had not been told about the probe and knew nothing of its scope.
The source said: ‘If it was an investigation into them, of some description, there would have to be a formal process where we would have to be involved. A formal HR investigation involves formal accusations.’
The Queen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on the Buckingham Palace balcony in July 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey will air on Sunday in the US
The probe will be led by the Royal Household HR team. Buckingham Palace is seen on Monday
The investigation may not release its findings until next year, with royal sources saying there is no set no timeframe after the explosive allegations were made.
There could be as many as eight to 12 people wishing to give evidence, although it has not yet been confirmed who any of them may be.
Sources connected to a group of aides ready to give evidence told the Daily Mirror how there were ten former Kensington Palace staff who want to be involved.
The Sussexes strongly deny the accusations of wrongdoing.
One royal source said up to ten people wanted to assist, adding: ‘A group of people are queuing up to be involved. They have been silent for too long and there is much to talk about.’
The review is likely to focus on a specific time frame and give staff a chance to talk about their experiences of working with the Sussexes, reported the Telegraph.
Royal sources also stressed that any changes to workplace practices as a result of the probe would be made public in their annual Sovereign Grant report.
However they cannot yet say whether it will be in this year’s review or the next.
On Wednesday night, the Queen launched an historic probe into the behaviour of her own grandson and his wife following allegations in The Times that they inflicted ’emotional cruelty’ on aides and ‘drove them out’.
The couple were labelled ‘outrageous bullies’, with ‘broken’ royal aides feeling ‘humiliated’, ‘sick’ and ‘terrified’ and even reduced to tears by the duchess.
The newspaper reported that in October 2018 an official complaint was made by one of their most senior aides, Jason Knauf, then head of communications, who alleged that Meghan bullied two PA’s ‘out of the household’ within the space of a year and was targeting other female staff.
Part of the probe will examine why his concerns were apparently not acted upon despite them being raised with several senior royal household staff at the time.
Mr Knauf himself said in an email leaked to the newspaper that he was concerned that ‘nothing would be done’.
‘I questioned if the Household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals [members of the Royal Family],’ he said.
In response the palace announced: ‘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.’
The Mail has been told that palace officials are happy to let the review take as long as necessary, particularly as a number of those who may wish to give evidence no longer work for the Royal Household.
The Oprah interview will first air on CBS on Sunday evening, and then on ITV on Monday night
‘No timeframe has been set,’ said a source, ‘particularly as a number of people do not work for the palace and we have to fit around that should they wish to take part.
‘There will be no push to rush through this. It is a very sensitive issue.
‘The fact that we are doing this and have made clear that we are very concerned about the allegations shows how seriously this is being taken.’
The closest situation to the one currently facing Buckingham Palace was the ‘cash for gifts’ scandal of the early 2000s when it was alleged that official gifts given to the Prince of Wales were being handed over to staff who then sold them.
A non-statutory inquiry was launched by his then private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, in conjunction with an independent QC, the findings of which were made public and recommendations put into place.
It seems that Buckingham Palace have no plans to go down the same route and are not even confirming the remit of the inquiry or who will lead it.
But any changes that the HR team feel need to be made will be publicly recorded in their annual palace review, which is normally published around July each year.
A source said: This is a ‘lessons learned’ exercise, to educate us about what happened, [to discover] if there things could have been done differently that we need to take account of in our policies.
‘When we are ready, details will be published our Sovereign Grant report. But as as we are not doing it to deadline, I can’t tell you whether it will be this Sovereign Grant or the next one.
‘But policies will clearly change should it be found that they need to.’
Asked why more detailed findings would not be made public, they added: ‘People need to be able to come forward and be clear they can talk freely – not worry that anything they say will be put into a public report. It is a very sensitive subject. ‘
Harry and Meghan, who strongly deny the accusations and have accused Buckingham Palace of orchestrating a ‘calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful information ‘ will not be asked to contribute at this stage.
This has been strongly denied by royals insiders who have lambasted the claims as ‘absolutely untrue’ and wholly ‘disingenuous’.
They admitted that it was ‘clearly very concerning that, two years on, the complaint [by Mr Knauf] against the Sussexes was unresolved’.
‘And we need to find out why this is the case,’ a source added.