Meghan Markle was in the early stages of her pregnancy with Prince Archie when she and Prince Harry travelled to Fiji, where the incident allegedly took place.
A pregnant Meghan Markle reportedly “turned and hissed” at one of her members of staff, leaving them in “tears” according to a royal correspondent who joined Meghan and Prince Harry on their royal tour.
The couple, who had married just a few months previously, embarked on a tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji in the autumn of 2018, but it was at an event in Fiji where things turned sour.
Rebecca English of the Daily Mail recalled: “I was there at the time and witnessed Meghan turn and ‘hiss’ at a member of her entourage, clearly incandescent with rage about something, and demand to leave.
“I later saw that same — female — highly distressed member of staff sitting in an official car, with tears running down her face. Our eyes met and she lowered hers, humiliation etched on her features.”
According to The Sun the reason for Meghan’s anger was that a group called UN Women was present at a market when she was there, even though she had reportedly insisted they not attend.
Video footage from the event shows the Duchess of Sussex whispering to an aide at the market before she is mysteriously whisked away.
Her lawyers have denied that her exit had anything to do with UN Women, as she had worked with the group before and met with them again later on the island.
One witness told The Mirror at the time in Meghan’s defence: “It was very hot and humid in there so perhaps it wasn’t the best environment for a pregnant woman.
“After speaking for about a minute she broke off and spoke to the same aide again before she was whisked out of the market very soon after.”
Ahead of Harry and Meghan’s infamous 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, members of staff at Buckingham Palace claimed that working for the couple had been “autocratic” and “difficult”, with several important staffers stepping down as a result.
Ms English wrote that the group referred to themselves as the ‘Sussex Survivors Club’, with some even supposedly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of working for the Duke and Duchess.
Meghan’s former personal assistant Melissa Touabti was key in helping to organise the couple’s wedding in May 2018, but stepped down from her role just a few months later.
Their private secretary Samantha Cohen also left her role after several months, despite initially agreeing that she would stay on working for the Royal Family after stepping down from her job with the late Queen Elizabeth.
In October 2018, Harry and Meghan’s then-communications secretary Jason Knauf wrote an email to Simon Case, then Prince William’s private secretary stating that he was “very concerned” about claims that the Duchess of Sussex “bullied” two PAs out of their jobs.
However those on Team Sussex hit back, saying the claims were part of a calculated smear campaign against Harry and Meghan to distract from the Oprah interview.