Former Employees Say Meghan Markle Was 'Really, Really, Really Awful' to Work For — and the Viral Clip Brought It All Back

Meghan Markle is facing criticism regarding her professional behavior toward her staff. Days earlier, a clip from her Australian trip surfaced online, where she appeared to direct a sharp look at a staff member who had allegedly touched Prince Harry. Now, other former employees of Markle have spoken out about working conditions under her

According to The Daily Beast’s The Royalist podcast, former staffers spoke with the publication’s journalist Tom Sykes, and stated that the viral clip of Meghan Markle from her Australia tour “revived memories” of their “traumatic” employment under her. Another employee said that it gave them “PTSD.”

Sykes, who has covered the royal family for decades, recalled former staffers telling him, “It’s classic Meghan... smiling to the public on one side of her face and glowering at you on the secret side where she thinks she is unobserved.”

The former employee claimed that the 44-year-old treats people she has authority over as “totally disposable.” He added, “You are just treated like a tradesman who is there to fix the toilet.” The report further notes former staffers, speaking to various publications, have used terms including "demon" to describe her management style.

Meanwhile, Sykes stated that Markle’s representatives have defended her, suggesting that the video has been slowed down to create a dramatic effect. The representative for Markle asserted that it was “designed to be manipulative and perpetuate a false narrative.”

Meanwhile, prior to this, Vanity Fair reported last January that unnamed sources told the publication that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s work environment had never been as harmonious as one would expect. A former colleague who worked with the Suits alumna on her Archetypes podcast on Spotify shared that the experience was “really, really, really awful” and “very painful.”

The source claimed that Markle initially seemed warm and supportive but would shift in demeanor if circumstances did not meet expectations, sources said. The former staffer also described her behavior as “undermining” and causing emotional distress. “Really, like, ‘Mean Girls’ teenager,” the staffer said.

The latest string of criticism and allegations comes amid Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent four-day trip to Australia, where the couple visited Melbourne and Sydney for “private, business, and philanthropic engagements.” It has also been reported that Markle was a featured guest at a women’s wellness event at the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach. The top VIP package was priced at approximately AU$3,199, or about $2,260 at current exchange rates.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry was the keynote speaker at the InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit in Melbourne on April 15-16, where the tickets were initially priced at AU$1,978 ($1,400). On the final day of their trip, the couple met with survivors and first responders from the Bondi Beach attack on December 14, 2025, that left 15 people dead in Sydney.