Royal expert, Katie Nicholl, tells ET that the queen doesn't want any more "drama" and is dealing with the matter "in-house."
Queen Elizabeth II does not want any more of the palace's "dirty linens" aired in public.
After it was revealed that Buckingham Palace would not be releasing a report to the public on the investigation into claims that Meghan Markle "bullied" palace staff, ET royal expert, Katie Nicholl, said that the Queen is doing her best to keep the matter "in-house" after a particularly dramatic year for the royal family.
"Everything that I'm hearing at the moment out of the palace, is that the Queen doesn't want any more drama. She just doesn't want any more dirty linens aired in public," Nicholl shared.
She continued, "By taking it in-house, which is essentially what the Queen has done, she is trying to limit any further damage, any further damage to the monarchy, potentially any further damage to those members of staff who have made those allegations and also, possibly to the Duchess of Sussex, who denied those allegations."
While trying to limit any further damage to those involved, Nicholl said the Palace is trying to protect those involved as well as the queen attempts to bury Meghan's bullying report.
"Well, it's been speculated that the reason that this investigation isn't going to essentially see the light of day, at least in public, is to protect those who spoke out and made these allegations of bullying against the Duchess of Sussex, to protect their privacy, to protect their anonymity. And there is some speculation that this would not have been particularly pleasant reading for the Duchess of Sussex, and possibly she's being protected in all of this as well."
Ultimately Nicholl said, it's a matter of keeping this particularly "inflammatory" story under the radar in an effort to preserve the reputation of the monarchy.
"But I think this really is just a case of keep a really very inflammatory story under the radar, not allowing any of it to be made public and what I suppose, the method in all of this, is to try and preserve the integrity of those staff, of the Duchess of Sussex and indeed of the reputation of the monarchy," she added.
The bullying investigation was launched in March 2021 following a report by The Times that was published just days before Meghan and Prince Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey was set to air.
According to the report, Meghan faced a bullying complaint at Kensington Palace back in October 2018, claiming she "drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member."
A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry denied the allegation, calling it a "calculated smear campaign."
In June 2021, the then-highly anticipated report was delayed. At the time, a source told ET, "The results of the investigation had been expected to be released this week, but it has been delayed."
The source said it was unclear whether the full results of the report would ever be made public to the press, or if the Palace would only release recommendations on how matters like these will be addressed in the future. The source also told ET, at the time, that no timetable was provided on when the findings would be published.
With the Palace and Queen declining to release their findings, it appears the investigation into Meghan's alleged bullying has been reportedly put to rest.
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