#Buckingham Palace ‘Very Concerned’ And Plan On Investigating Claims That Meghan Markle Bullied Staffers

On Wednesday, Buckingham Palace released a statement in response to claims that Meghan Markle bullied two staffers to “tears” before stepping down as a senior royal alongside Prince Harry in 2020.

As we reported, multiple royal palace aides allegedly approached The Times and claimed that one of the Suits alum’s former advisers had filed a bullying complaint against her as she and her royal hubby were leaving Kensington Palace, and suggested that the palace swept the complaints under the royal rug.

Well, Buckingham Palace is now speaking out, and they’re taking the royal rug outside for a good dusting — or so they claim!

Related: Meghan Has Been Planning Oprah Tell-All For 2 YEARS

The statement, released via social media, read:

“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.”

Now that’s a strong reaction! Of course, actions speak louder than words, so we’ll see if anything actually comes of this probe before applauding team Queen.

The response is interesting, though, seeing as Harry and Meghan’s camp called The Times’ report — which, again, accused Buckingham Palace of protecting the Duchess at the expense of her employees — an orchestrated “attack” ahead of the couple’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Related: Meghan & Harry’s Statement Showed They Were ‘Angry’ With The Queen

So we have to wonder: could the palace really be so sneaky as to leak a story that paints itself in a bad light, just to bring Meg down a few pegs?

We’ll likely never know. But the California native’s team was quick to call the report a “smear campaign,” saying in a statement:

“Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”

In a separate statement, her rep added:

“The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. [Meghan] is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”

Like we said, this whole thing is turning into one big royal soap opera — only we’ll never get to find out who’s really pulling the strings!

What do U think is going on here, Perezcious readers? Did the palace leak this scandal to take Meg down, even if it took the palace down, too? Or did Meghan really make her staffers cry? Sound off (below)!

[Image via Lia Toby/WENN]