New claims have been made that a report into Meghan Markle’s alleged bullying was never released because it would have also raised ‘questions about the behaviour of the Queen’s second son’.

Buckingham Palace prepared itself for a Prince Andrew bombshell after ‘concerning’ allegations were raised about Meghan Markle, it has been claimed.

The Duchess faced accusations of bullying staff members at Kensington Palace during her brief period as a working royal, though Meghan strongly refuted the claims that she had mistreated anyone in her employ. Additional allegations that Meghan can be a rather demanding boss have continued to follow her since relocating to California, with certain staff members telling American media outlets that they found her challenging to work with.

Nevertheless, others publicly defended Meghan wholeheartedly, insisting that she exceeded expectations as an employer in caring for her team.

A palace inquiry was reportedly conducted into the bullying claims, though the findings were never made public – and a Royal author has suggested that the decision to keep the results confidential was actually taken to shield Prince Andrew.

The bombshell allegation was revealed in a fresh biography by Andrew Lownie focusing on the King’s fallen brother and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, reports the Mirror.

The tome, ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York’, claimed that Andrew mistreated numerous Royal staff over the years, and that “The report on Markle has never been released, some say because it would also raise questions about the behaviour of the Queen’s second son.”

Lownie wrote, “After Meghan Markle was accused of bullying staff, Buckingham Palace braced itself for historic complaints about the duke’s bullying, profanities, and impossible demands.

“A former aide had been reduced to tears after being ‘bawled at’ in a phone call before dawn because Andrew was unhappy with a story in the Sun newspaper. One member of staff was moved to other duties because Andrew ‘disliked a mole on the man’s face’, another ‘because the man was wearing a nylon tie’.”

A former equerry for the Queen Mother revealed to Lownie that through his interactions with Andrew he formed the view that the King’s brother was a “rude, ignorant, sod”.

During one incident, it was alleged by the aide, Andrew branded a staff member a “f***ing imbecile” for using the wrong title for the Queen Mother. Andrew was not, in the aide’s view, “a particularly nice person.

“He would speak to the staff, including me, as an officer speaks to his subordinates. He would say things such as: ‘I want this done and I want it done now’ or ‘Have that done by such and such a time.’ I remember him always saying ‘Do it!’ which was his catchphrase of sorts,” the former equerry was quoted as saying.

The aide revealed that Andrew’s behaviour was in sharp contrast to how Charles and the other royals treated their staff, which was far more respectful.