In reaction to claims made by royal aides that Meghan Markle bullied them, Buckingham Palace is taking stern action.

According to a story in The Times newspaper, Meghan bullied her subordinates. It quoted anonymous sources saying that in October 2018, a Harry and Meghan aide filed a lawsuit claiming that Meghan had made some of her assistants cry and handled others so badly that they had left.

Rather than conducting the investigation in-house, the palace has hired an outside law firm to look at the allegations brought against the Duchess of Sussex. “Our commitment to look into the circumstances around allegations from former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is being taken forward,” a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace assured the outlet on Monday, “but we will not be providing a public commentary on it.”

The Palace said their “HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article” and “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.”

According to the newspaper, Harry persuaded the aide, who has since left the firm, to drop the complaint, and it was never pursued. Former Royal staff approached the newspaper, saying they needed the public to know about the allegations before Winfrey interview broadcast.

The royal aides said that they needed to come out at the time because the public “should have insight into their side of the story” ahead of the royal couple’s first sit-down interview following their departure from the United Kingdom.

When the abuse allegations first emerged, a representative for Meghan and Harry told The New York Times, “Let’s just call this what it is—a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. 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. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”

The Royal Household issued a statement, saying it was “very concerned” regarding the accusations and that it “does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.” It stated that the human resources department will investigate the claims, and that employees who were interested at the time would be asked to join.

Following the allegations made against Meghan Markle, it has been reported that Prince Andrew may be drawn into the inquiry into workplace bullying.

The Duke of York has been accused of shouting, swearing, and making impossible requests on his aides over the years.

The Palace has been accused of discriminating against Meghan because she is being investigated while Prince Andrew is not.

According to the Mail on Sunday, several employees are believed to have ample grounds for complaint, and the Palace would be obligated to investigate if they step forward.

The Palace continues to have a “uneven playing field” when it comes to internal inquiries, according to Omid Scobie, author of Finding Freedom, because it failed to investigate the Duke of York’s relationship with accused paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The royal biographer told Good Morning Britain that the Queen was correct to address the allegations of abuse leveled towards the Duchess of Sussex, but that internal inquiries “need to happen across the board”.

He said: “I understand that anyone’s experience and what they share as their experience during employment needs to be heard, so of course, like any responsible business there has to be an investigation.

“But at the same time, it is an unprecedented moment for the palace to announce to the entire world that there would be an HR investigation.

“This is the institution that has remained dead silent about all of the Prince Andrew accusations.

“‘No comment’ were the words given to me time and time again when I asked more questions about the allegations against Prince Andrew and his lack of cooperation against the FBI.

“When Harry and Meghan are accused of or suspicious of staff leaking stories to British tabloids, their complaint fell on deaf ears again, so it does feel like we have an uneven playing field here,” he said.

“If there are internal investigations they need to happen across the board.”

Prince Andrew has received widespread condemnation for his relationship with alleged child molester Jeffrey Epstein, with one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts, alleging that she was forced to have contact with the prince on several occasions.