Saturday 24 September 2022 10:29 PM Explosive new book pits Palace aides and Sussex Survivors' Club against ... trends now
Palace aides believed that the Duchess of Sussex was deliberately laying a ‘trail of evidence’ as she carefully plotted her departure from the Royal Family, a new book claims.
It alleges that her aides – who named themselves the ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’ after Meghan and Harry quit their roles – called the Duchess a ‘narcissistic sociopath’.
Extracts of Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown by Valentine Low were published by The Sunday Times last night.
The book describes the Sussexes’ deteriorating relationship with their staff – a ‘succession of... decent people’ who had believed in Meghan and ‘would have done anything’ to help the couple succeed.
But it alleges that aides came to believe that Meghan’s departure was premeditated and that ‘one of [her] concerns was whether she was going to be able to make money for herself’.
One ex staff member told the author: ‘She wanted to be rejected, because she was obsessed with that narrative from day one.’
And sources said that her team reportedly said of her on repeated occasions: ‘We were played.’
Extracts from the new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown have revealed that Palace aides believed that the Duchess of Sussex was deliberately laying a ‘trail of evidence’ as she carefully plotted her departure from the Royal Family
The book alleges that her aides – nicknamed the ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’ after Meghan and Harry quit their roles – called the Duchess a ‘narcissistic sociopath’. Pictured: Meghan Markle with Sussexes' former secretary Samantha Cohen, a core member of the Sussex Survivors’ Club
Extracts from the book claim that Ms Cohen would tell Edward Young (left), the Queen’s private secretary, and Clive Alderton (right), Charles’s private secretary that if it all went wrong, the Palace needed evidence of the duty of care it had shown to Harry and Meghan
The book quotes a source saying that Ms Cohen (pictured) was ‘bullied’ and that nothing she did was ever good enough for the couple
The book claims that staff became convinced the Duchess wanted to show how the institution failed her – and even felt there was a cynical motive behind her decision to complain to HR bosses, who listened sympathetically but offered no help.
‘This was inevitable: HR is there to deal with employee issues, not members of the Royal Family,’ the book says. ‘Meghan would presumably have known that, so what was she doing there? Laying a trail of evidence, would be the cynical answer.’
A former staff member told Low: ‘Everyone knew that the institution would be judged by her happiness. The mistake they made was thinking that she wanted to be happy.’
In her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Meghan emphasised the difference between the Queen and those who surrounded her – the ones she felt refused to help when she was in her hour of greatest need and perpetuated ‘falsehoods’ about her.
The Duchess’s lawyers denied last year that Miss Cohen had been bullied, saying that the couple were always grateful for her support and dedication
