Meghan Markle's "glare" controversy reignites old wounds from former employees.
'It Gives Me PTSD': One Viral Clip From Meghan Markle's Australia Tour Is All It Took for a Former Employee to Speak Out
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent Australia trip generated controversy from the start over several aspects of the trip including the duchess's outfit choices and her decision to list those looks for sale.
Now, Markle’s latest “glare” at a female staff member during one of the public engagements in Australia might have opened old wounds for one of her former employees.
The incident took place at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne on April 14, 2026 when a woman who seemed to be a staff member for Meghan and Harry, was seen putting her hands on the latter’s back presumably to get his attention to something in a loud room full of patients and their families.
Meghan Markle’s Glaring Stare
Meghan Markle allegedly gave a death stare to a woman during the Australia tour for touching Harry's back.
However, the moment it happened, Markle was seen staring at the staff member, her smile disappearing. The video of the same was quick to go viral on social media and the clip prompted criticism of the Duchess of Sussex from social media users but it gave some major PTSD to one of her former employees.
Tom Sykes, host of The Daily Beast's The Royalist podcast, told listeners that Markle’s stare at the woman opened up a past unpleasant experience for one of her former staff members.
Sykes also said that another former employee of the Suits star told him, “It gives me PTSD.” The former staffer suggested the moment may reflect Markle's "true character," according to Sykes
Meghan’s Former Staff Member Recalls her Plight
Meghan Markle's video of "death stare" goes viral.
Quoting the words of the former staff member, Tom Sykes said, “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.”
Other former staff members of the As Ever founder described their experience while working for her to be “traumatic” while some confessed that the video “revived memories” of their challenging ordeal while working for the controversial former royal.
The stare was not the only moment from the Australian tour to draw criticism. Her pricey ensembles especially at places like the Royal Children’s Hospital, Homeless Services for Women Centre and visiting the survivors of the Bondi Beach terror attack attracted significant backlash online.
Not only this but Markle also put her outfits for sale at an AI fashion platform, OneOff where she is also an investor. While it seemed not to be a huge deal as other celebrities like Emma Roberts and Kate Hudson are also on the platform, the Duchess’ one move earned her a lot of brickbats.
Meghan Markle ended up putting the outfits for sale which she had sported while visiting the Royal Children’s Hospital, Homeless Services for Women Centre and the Bondi beach where she had interacted with the survivors of the Hanukkah celebration shooting on December 13, 2025. Many social media users described the move as tone-deaf.