Is Valentine Low's Book The 'Official' Unofficial Report On The Bullying Allegations?
The Times journalist expands on his March 2021 interviews with members of the Royal Household
On 2 March 2021, Valentine Low published an article that claimed that members within the Royal Household had been bullied by TW. The article was published a few days before the Oprah Winfrey interview, where the world had been treated to some teaser snippets that painted the dastardly duo as victims of the Royal Family.
The members of the Royal Household had approached Low, and I imagine they did so with the permission of Buckingham Palace given that all members of staff have strict confidentiality agreements. In addition, Low, also stated that his sources were iron clad, and if the Sussexes chose to sue The Times, then they were prepared. The Sussexes did not sue The Times, and given that they have sued for valid critical comments before, one can only presume that there is some truth in the accounts that Low shared with the world.
His new book, ‘Courtiers: The hidden power behind the Crown’, appears to be the ‘official’ unofficial report on the bullying allegations that BP carried out, and that they said would not be made public. What better way to reveal the contents of the report than through a book penned by an established journalist who is employed by the most traditional newspaper in the UK? It means that BP can ‘tell their story’ and keep their hands clean. However, isn’t this about three years too late, where untold damage has been done that is irreversible?
Mr Low is one of the few journalists I take the time to read, although he can at times be a little syrupy and flowery, where rather than being someone trying to score points, he sounds a little naive about certain wicked ways of the world. He seems like a decent sort of chap that you can have a nice cup of tea with…
The book is out next week, and a few extracts have been released. These have confirmed many of the stories over the years, where TW and TOS had been rude and where they behaved inappropriately, but it is nonetheless useful as a reminder that TOS and TW are disliked because of their attitude and behaviour.
What was revealed in the extracts? We had in depth accounts of how the staff were treated by TOS and TW during the Australasia tour, and I recall at the time, Low had already mentioned that TOS had been rude to the media telling them that they hadn’t been invited, when they had been by BP.
Due to the time zone differences, most of the stories during the tour came a day late in the UK and there was some interest but not as much as the sugar reporters thought as the stories broke overnight when people were asleep. No one was really interested in what they did when you are rushing off to work or school either, hence, most the real time interactions were from those in Australia and New Zealand media channels.
We could already tell that things had been strained as TW deliberately tried to look as if she was with child at Eugenie and Jack’s wedding, and then wore a white body con dress without a bulge showing a few days later. When a number of personnel resigned after a few months, you don’t need to be Mystic Meg to figure out there’s trouble at t’ mill.
Low names those who were affected by the alleged bullying, where it would be far easier to name the ones who hadn’t been bullied (James Holt). The key personnel, we assume gave permission for their names to be used and to be quoted, and these include Samantha Cohen, Jason Knauf, Amy Pickerell, Edward Lane-Fox, and Sara Latham. None of these revelations are a surprise, but it actually makes looks BP look weak and rather unprofessional when they failed to deal with a situation, and crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. That didn’t work out, and issuing statements that all was fine made them look inept as the world could see it was far from fine, when the Sussexes were kicked out of Kensington Palace and then the Royal Foundation.
The world was fed silly stories, such as Amy Pickerell resigned to work abroad, when in fact she worked in London for another company before a role was found back in the Royal Household for her with the Earthshot Prize. Edward Lane-Fox resigned just before TW would become his boss, and stories circulated that he was taking time out to look after a sick spouse, and he took a year off before going to Freuds.
Many could see that Sam Cohen looked far from happy when she was with the Sussexes, but with so much disharmony that the world could see, why didn’t Charles or the Queen put a halt to things? Prior to the marriage there were indications of what would happen, and TW didn’t hide her arrogance with the staff when she was a girlfriend either. If William had seen and heard how TW treated people as the book claims, then why didn’t he do more to stop things? It begs the question of how much due diligence did BP and the government do on TW before the engagement?
The picture Low paints is one of the aides and BP trying to do what they could to appease TW, and if that was supposed to elicit sympathy then it failed. You do not feed a bloody thirsty shark fresh meat when they are attacking you with each move, for that quite frankly is stupid.
Those who resigned were the wise ones who valued their dignity and self-worth. I am sure there are more staff members that have tales to tell (and they probably do tell them in therapy sessions), and yet this behaviour continues and is ignored. Staff in the Montecito circus have also given accounts of how poorly they are treated and that no one wants to work there. The trend is at least consistent in that no one wants to work for them, staff leave, and that tales of poor treatment and bullying continue.
The Sussexes wanted to do things their way, and BP was foolhardy to have appeased them. TOS knows the rules, and yes, he broke then a few times and was reprimanded, but he pushed things too far and had TW egging him on. They both abused the gifted titles and status they had by belittling others, and forced them to carry out acts that could be considered illegal, or at the very least unethical.
The staff may have thought they had been played, but there had been warnings from TW’s friends and families, and those if us with common sense and some experience of the world with unsavoury types also warned them. I began documenting this saga back in March 2018, and there were red flags waving all over the place, so I’m sorry staff of the Royal Household, you may think you were played, but you could have avoided it by listening to others with more experience. The People have little sympathy for those who arrogantly think they know better when clearly they didn’t and ended up with a mess that affected the Nation.
Yes, I do believe that the Royal Household is partly to blame for this, not through failing to bend over backwards to cater for the Sussexes whims, but for failing to put the interests of the public and the People first. The Monarchy serves the People, and the Royal Household had an obligation to ensure that members of the Royal Family adhere to those obligations. Their remit was not to accede to everything that the duo wanted, because nothing would ever be good enough as they believed they were better than William and Kate, and deserved to be treated equally.
There are accounts of the tiara issue, the visit in Fiji where TW decided she didn’t want to stay, and there are numerous tales of TW swearing and shouting at staff during the Australasia tour. All these tales are consistent and aren’t exactly a shock, but the question is why didn’t BP do more to rap them on the knuckles, or the Queen and Charles to keep their house in order? We want the truth behind the tea throwing incident and whether people were paid to remain silent.
I believe Low has tried to appear fair, and throws in the odd comment that Harry was unhappy and that TW saved him. Who will save us from them though? It’s clear that TW at least had planned to leave the UK once she bagged the title and status that she could not acquire through any real talent of her own. The plans had been made before the wedding, and were carried out under the very eyes of the Royal Household staff, who chose to aid them, and didn’t stop to think that this could be considered treasonous. Their ultimate boss was the Queen, and Charles, and not the Sussexes as the Sussexes didn’t pay their wages
We look back at the ANL case where their lawyers approached BP for witness statements for the Palace Four. The accounts in Low’s book clearly indicate that BP were aware of perjured statements being submitted to a court of law, and when a request for witness statements was made, they chose to restrict any assistance, and only if the case went to trial. One could say they were circumventing the law, and trying to appear as if they weren’t by agreeing to assist in a limited capacity, and in specific circumstances. It doesn’t sit well when the Crown appears to be circumventing the laws of the Crown to conceal deceit and perjury.
Had the Palace Four been permitted to give statements, perhaps BP would have been able to save a teeny tiny bit of their reputation? They eventually permitted Knauf to speak in November 2021 (a year later), but by then the damage had been done and the court said it was too late. BP might say they were played, but they allowed themselves to be played by TW when they had the means and power to do something about it, whether it was to prevent issues, or to deal with them as permitted by the law.
That’s why I have little sympathy for the staff at BP that failed the People, failed the Nation, failed the judicial system, and they failed to protect the Monarchy. They may have thought by concealing evidence and covering up TOS and TW’s actions that they were protecting the Monarchy, but what they actually did was enable the destruction of an establishment that is the bedrock of the United Kingdom.
The fact that they have allowed Low to speak to a number of courtiers to give their side of the story is a positive step, but we must also remember that there are many people out there who want to tell their story—their truth, but are intimidated or are afraid. Perhaps they are afraid of being judged, yet the public will judge them more harshly by staying silent and enabling a bully to attack others?
It remains to be seen if TOS and TW will try and sue Low, but I expect Low has the protection of BP this time, and it’s not defamation if it is true. Unofficially, we all know the bullying allegations had merit, and hopefully Low’s book will allow the victims to speak their truth and find some peace and closure.
