Meghan dished a brutal ultimatum to Prince Harry before they were married, a source has claimed. Photo / AP
Meghan dished a brutal ultimatum to Prince Harry before they were married, a source has claimed. Photo / AP
The Duchess of Sussex reportedly did not understand the point of royal walkabouts and said during her 2018 tour Downunder: "I can't believe I'm not getting paid for this," a new book claims.
The book titled Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, written by royal correspondent and author Valentine Low, has claimed that Meghan worked hard to be portrayed in a positive light - particularly during the couple's first official royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga - however, behind the scenes, "it was a different story".
"Although she enjoyed the attention, Meghan failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers," the book states.
"According to several members of staff, she was heard to say on at least one occasion, 'I can't believe I'm not getting paid for this'."
The couple's royal tour became the focus of the Buckingham Palace bullying probe last year as the 16-day trip is said to have included multiple clashes between Meghan and her aides.
The couple's private secretary, Samantha Cohen, was "screamed at before the flight [from Tonga to Sydney] and during", after which Ms Cohen is said to have told other staff to stay away from the Duke and Duchess for the rest of the day.
The Palace concluded their findings by issuing a statement which read, "We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex," a statement said.
"She was convinced that the palace was unwilling to protect her from media intrusion." the book claimed. Photo / AP
"Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. 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.
"The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace."
But now it seems the outcome of the investigation will never be known.
The Palace said changes would be made after lessons were learned, but did not go into details.
Employment policies were also said to have been changed.
There are many bombshell revelations in the book, including the claim that Meghan issued Harry with an ultimatum at the beginning of their relationship.
The Sun has reported the Duchess of Sussex allegedly told the prince she would break up with him if he didn't publicly announce they were dating.
An extract from the book that was published by the Times claimed the duke "became determined to protect" Meghan after "hordes of journalists" tried to dig up information on her.
However, the extract also revealed Meghan's counterproductive approach when she told the prince if he didn't announce they were seriously dating, she would move on.
The extract read, "A source said: 'She was saying, "If you don't put out a statement confirming I'm your girlfriend, I'm going to break up with you". Harry was in a panic'."
"Another source said: 'He was freaking out, saying, She's going to dump me'."
An extract from the book claimed the duke "became determined to protect" Meghan. Photo /AP
The author, Low, then claimed Harry demanded Kensington Palace communications secretary, Jason Knauf, help him release a statement on his relationship and make it clear he condemned the "racist and sexist undertones of some of the media coverage".
Low went on to state: "Meghan wanted public validation that this was a serious relationship.
"She was convinced that the Palace was unwilling to protect her from media intrusion."
