Meghan Markle's new 'Duchess Difficult claims have glaring echoes of past' - expert

New claims Meghan Markle has earned the nickname 'Duchess Difficult' among her staff have "glaring and fascinating echoes" of her time in the Royal Family, according to an expert.

Amid both Prince Harry and Meghan seemingly having a high turnover of staff for their new US-based ventures, a source has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex "belittles people" and "doesn't take advice".

The accusations, in the Hollywood Reporter, come just weeks after it emerged that Harry's chief of staff Josh Kettler had left his post after just three months with "both sides agreeing it wasn't the right fit". And now Valentine Low, a former royal correspondent at The Times, who reported on bullying claims against Meghan when she was a working royal, prompting an investigation, has spoken out on the new allegations.

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The author behind the book Courtiers told Newsweek: "It does have some glaring and fascinating echoes of everything I wrote, and that others have written before, about Meghan."

He added: "She clearly has certain standards but, on the other hand, the demands she makes of people may not always reflect what's possible—she may demand too much. I don't think Harry and Meghan are in the business of either listening to anyone else or changing." The Mirror has contacted Meghan's representatives for comment.

The allegations in the story in the Times in March 2021 came just days before Harry and Meghan's controversial tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey was aired.

An investigation by Buckingham Palace was launched and invited past and present employees to speak in confidence about their experiences of working for Meghan after it was alleged she drove out two personal assistants and staff were "humiliated" on several occasions - claims the Duchess strongly denies. A spokesperson for Meghan at the time said: "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. It's no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining the duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and the duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years."

The results of the investigation were expected to be made public. However, it was revealed in July 2022 that the findings of the review would not feature in a report on the Sovereign Grant for that year. Changes are to be made with lessons having been learned, said Buckingham Palace - but the household declined to go into specifics.