Meghan Markle Organized an Ice Cream Party for the Kensington Palace Staff

After reports that Meghan Markle is difficult to work with and not liked by palace staff, a friend of the former actress shared stories of how she goes out of her way to be kind to employees. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly hosted an ice cream and sorbet party for Kensington Palace staff.

There's no pleasing everyone, even when you're a stunningly composed and thoughtful person like Meghan Markle. Case-in-point: the whole "Duchess Difficult" debacle.

In case you need a refresher, "Duchess Difficult" was a nickname that palace staff had allegedly given Meghan for the high crime of sending work emails late at night or early in the morning. In the entertainment industry, from which Meghan hails, this all-day email policy isn't just normal, it's basically expected. In the royal family's working household? Not so much, apparently.

This all led to reports that the palace staff weren't the biggest fans of the former actress' working and management styles and that they had taken to calling her "Duchess Difficult" behind her back. It was a disappointing story all around—and one that has, for the record, been widely rebuked.

In a new report featuring (anonymous, so keep that in mind) interviews with people described as close friends and former colleagues of Meghan, People presents some counter-evidence to the whole "Meghan is hard to work for" concept.

"The email thing is such a weird slant on someone who is actually an incredibly organized, diligent, focused, hardworking person," one of Meghan's former colleagues told People of the "Duchess Difficult" gossip. "She was always that way. She showed up on-set more prepared than anyone else." 

Not only did Meghan always come to work ultra-prepared, but one of her old costars (again, unnamed) added that she went out of her way to do nice things for the people she worked with—like ordering gourmet burgers for the crews who worked on her sets. And that is, apparently, a tradition that Meghan is sticking to with her new "crew" at Kensington Palace.

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The case is probably full of Snickers bars and handwritten appreciation notes.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"It’s the same stuff she does with her office at [Kensington Palace] now," the costar explained. "I came by there one day, and she had ordered an incredible ice cream and sorbet stand for the office. They were remarking how it was the 'best day of work ever.' It warmed my heart to see her just continuing to be her and bring her style to the U.K."

So, to recap: Yeah, Meghan sends work emails at odd hours, but she also orders gourmet burgers and fancy pants ice cream bars for her employees, so she's probably not the Miranda Priestly boss she's sometimes been made out to be.

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(Image credit: Design by Morgan McMullen)
Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.