Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have struggled with their reputations since stepping down from their roles as senior royals. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been living in the United States for four years, but they have still had a hard time keeping staff members on their team, which has also been a reason for people to attack them.

But to make matters worse, an alleged former staff member of Harry and Meghan’s recently went on record saying that Meghan was awful to work with, and it reportedly has the duchess “deeply concerned” over how it could impact her reputation.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023

Meghan Markle has always been at the center of rumors

It seems that, despite starting a new life in the United States and being much happier overall, there are still alleged inside sources who want to bring the duchess down. Meghan hasn’t always been perceived as the most down-to-earth royal family member, but she has also worked hard to rebuild the way people view her since leaving the royal family.

In early September, though, a former staffer told The Hollywood Reporter that Meghan was  difficult to work with and that everyone is “terrified” of her. And an outlet like that one, which has quite a good reputation among the media, is able to do damage with a story of that nature.

“She’s absolutely relentless,” one source told the outlet. “She marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders. I’ve watched her reduce grown men to tears.”

Those words have reportedly gotten back to Harry and Meghan, and Meghan is “deeply concerned” with the accusations, according to Express, with sources close to Meghan combating the accusations.

“The Sussex team have had more than enough of these types of articles; it’s simply not true,” the source said. “Everyone is deeply concerned over the timing of the article because it was published just days before Harry’s birthday.” The source also suggested the person who made these claims was a “disgruntled” former employee. “There are fears that there could be a disgruntled former member of staff who is putting out mistruths which are designed to make them [Harry and Meghan] look bad.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle keep looking forward

Although nobody likes to see or hear negative comments about themselves, Harry and Meghan are going to continue doing what they have always done: move forward. Even back in 2020, when it felt like nobody was on their side for the royal exit, the two pushed through; today, it’s made them much happier.

The source who disputes the “dictator” claims also said that Harry and Meghan are just trying to envision the future. “The focus for Camp Sussex now is to build on the success of the last year and to take that positive momentum forward into 2025 and beyond.”

Time will tell if Harry and Meghan are ever able to escape their own reputations and build something better out of their brand.