Meghan Markle 'distressed' about bullying allegations; knew 'it would get ugly,'

Meghan Markle is "distressed" about the bullying allegations that have recently surfaced against her, but she and her husband Prince Harry already knew that "it would get ugly" with the palace.

Friends of the former American actress told Harper's Bazaar that the Sussexes are going to speak their truth despite the recent developments, and also accused the palace of being racist towards her. Speaking to Omid Scobie, who wrote "Finding Freedom" about Harry and Meghan's exit as senior royals, a source said: "I hate to say it, but find me a woman of colour in a senior position who has not been accused of being too angry, too scary, too whatever in the workplace."

"It's sad that it's happening, but I'm not surprised," the insider said, adding "These claims are so far from the woman I know."

A second friend of the Duchess said: "You can't ignore the timing of this. This has been done to undermine her character or undermine the topics that they discuss on Sunday. Harry and Meghan knew that it would get ugly in the run up (to the Oprah interview), but seeing such an obvious attempt at destroying her character was distressing and upsetting."

"They have had everything and the kitchen sink thrown at them this week, but ultimately nothing will stop them from sharing their truth," the pal added.

Another friend of the 39-year-old who has known her for a decade said Meghan would have felt awful if she knew that someone felt that way about working with her. "But I also know that no one ever approached her about anything like this at all during that time. I have never known her to be anything but kind and considerate to her friends and colleagues," the friend added.

Sources told Scobie that Meghan was "speechless" when she found out about The Times article that claims she drove two employees out of the Kensington Palace. It was also reported that she said "it's not my job to coddle people" when confronted about her behaviour. After the article came out, Buckingham Palace announced that their HR team would probe the allegations made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the royal household "will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace."

A spokesperson for the Sussexes described the bullying report as "a calculated smear campaign" noting that the "distorted accusations" are being made just ahead of their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.

However, the sources told The Times that they are coming forward with the bullying allegations just ahead of the interview because "they felt that only a partial version had emerged of Meghan's two years as a working member of the royal family and they wished to tell their side, concerned about how such matters are handled by the palace."