Meghan Markle addresses controversial nickname 'Duchess Difficult'

A dispute has emerged between current and former employees of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle regarding their experiences working for the couple.

Since relocating to the U.S. four years ago, the couple has gained a reputation for a high turnover of staff at their Archewell organization. 

Recently, allegations surfaced in the American publication Hollywood Reporter claiming that Meghan "belittles people," "doesn't take advice," and has earned the nickname "Duchess Difficult," which led some staff members to come to her defense.

This isn't the first time Meghan has faced such accusations; she was previously referred to as "Duchess Difficult" while she was still an active member of the Royal Family. 

However, Meghan has addressed this unflattering label directly during her former Spotify podcast, Archetypes.

In one episode, she delves into the origins and implications of the term 'the B-word' and the label 'difficult,' discussing how these terms are often misapplied to assertive women.

In the episode, Meghan examines why women are sometimes branded a b**** and says: "What these people are implying when they use that very charged word, is that this woman, 'Oh, she's difficult'. Which is really just a euphemism or is probably not even a euphemism., it's really a code word for the B-word. She continues later in the podcast: "So, perhaps the truth is that labelling a woman as the B-word or as difficult is often a deflection.

"A way to hide some of her really awesome qualities, her persistence, her strength, her perseverance, her strong opinion, maybe even her resilience and those are the very qualities we are going to be uncovering today." 

She added: "Okay, so calling someone the B-word labelling them as difficult, it's often a way to insult and dismiss someone.

Following the claims published in Hollywood Reporter, other current and former staff members of the Sussexes offered a contrasting perspective on working with Meghan in an interview with US Weekly. One notable voice was Josh Kettler, who served as Harry's chief of staff for just three months before resigning last month.

His abrupt departure raised eyebrows, especially since he had been brought on to "guide him [Harry] through his next phase." 

This news broke just before Harry and Meghan's highly publicized trip to Colombia. Kettler, who previously held positions as chief of staff and head of strategic partnerships at the communications platform Cognixion, stated that he was "warmly welcomed" by both Meghan and Harry, as well as the Archewell team.

He added: "They are dedicated and hardworking. It was impressive to witness."