Meghan 'shouted' at Australian-born palace staffer who she and Prince Harry 'treated harshly' author claims

The Duchess of Sussex "shouted" at a former staffer who she and Prince Harry "treated harshly", it has been claimed.

Author Valentine Low spoke about the alleged incident during a podcast promoting his new book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown.

The royal correspondent for The Times says Prince Harry had a good working relationship with Australian-born Samantha Cohen before Meghan came along.

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But that relationship soon deteriorated when Cohen began working as the couple's private secretary.

Cohen had been asked to move across to the Sussex's office, leaving her post at Buckingham Palace where she had previously been stationed as the late Queen Elizabeth's assistant private secretary.

"When she started, Harry knew her well, and liked her and she liked Harry," Low told Palace Confidential.

"Sam is an incredible problem solver, she's a can-do personality and she just found it really difficult."

Cohen was said to have been handpicked by the Queen to help Meghan adjust to royal life.

But things didn't go as planned.

"She was asked to do things that a private secretary wouldn't normally be asked to do and I think she was treated harshly," Low says.

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"She was shouted at by Meghan… she was said to have said that dealing with them was like dealing with a couple of teenagers."

Low writes about the unrest between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their staff in his book, with the Australian tour in 2018 being a particularly unhappy occasion.

Ahead of boarding a flight from Tonga to Sydney, Meghan "screamed at" her staff and accused them of failing her, he says.

That confrontation was allegedly directed at Cohen before the flight from Tonga to Sydney.

In 2021, Low was the journalist to first reveal accusations of bullying by the couple against their staff.

Those claims were strenuously denied by Meghan, who said it was part of a smear campaign ahead of her and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey.

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At the time, Low said Cohen had been "bullied".

Writing in The Times, Low quoted a source as saying of Cohen: "They treated her terribly. Nothing was ever good enough. It was, 'She doesn't understand, she's failing.'

"In fact, the source said, Cohen was 'a saint' and the best organiser of royal tours they had known."

Low added: "Lawyers for the duke and duchess said they remained close to Cohen and grateful for her support and dedication, acknowledging that she had come out of retirement to work closely with them at a busy time. They deny bullying her."

Speaking overnight, Low says there were also major problems leading up to the royal wedding "about all sorts of things. The choir, the food".

The soon-to-be duchess was also unhappy staff had been releasing details to the media before the big day.

"The palace would put out details about the cake, the dress, whatever, to keep the media happy."

He said alternative plans were created when it emerged that Meghan wasn't keen on the current arrangement.

"There was some poor woman presenting an alternative plan and Meghan was really unhappy with the alternative plan."

She is then alleged to have told that aide: "Believe me if there was anybody else I could get to do this, I would".