Staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

[carlota]

who is left now in meghan's entourage? did they hire already for all those positions who had people leaving? i know not long the papparazzi had pictures of meghan and a male aide going for a working lunch. any word on who is stepping up to these positions?

was Amy Pickerill not a fairly new member of the aides party anyway? shame they are leaving so soon specially since meghan is a new RF member and would need the support to adjust to the new duties.

[MaiaMia_53]

It doesn't seem to me that staffing matters for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is anything for us royal observers to be overly concerned about. That is unless any of us are planning to uproot, move to London/Windsor and apply to work for H&M ourselves.

Apparently, the muckraking tabloids haven't anything substantive to write about and no royal tours to focus on. Why don't we hear more about what Princess Anne and Prince Charles & the Duchess of Cornwall are doing in service to the crown, rather than all of this rampant speculation regarding H&M's personal and household staff? It's no wonder that Meghan steers clear of most print and online media, except for publications such as The Economist. I think the conversation amongst Meghan and the other International Women's Day panelists at Kings College the other day, is much more newsworthy and meaningful than 'muddled' speculation about royal aides moving on. In any case, most non-tabloid reports include the fact that Meghan is very close to Amy Pickerill, and that Amy will continue to be a close confidante to Meghan even after moving on to other pursuits.

The male aide who took lunch with Meghan some weeks ago is Christian Jones, whose official title is Deputy Communications Secretary to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge and to the Duke & Duchess of Sussex. Jones formerly worked as a Press Secretary for the British government on matters dealing with Brexit. (A bit of irony re the theme of entities leaving other entities )

[Kataryn]

Originally Posted by tommy100

I don't see the need to diss someone or their career choices and call them strange. She has a job, is caring for other people not a worthy job?

I just found it strange that we had never heard of her before, and then she becomes first "just Melissa" who walked out on Meghan because the Duchess is too "difficult", with her as the living proof and means for the DF to kick Meghan down, a lot later we learn her last name and that "a source was authorized" (by whom? Why not make that a statement by an official speaker? Normally the Palace keeps absolutley quiet under such circumstances) praises her highly and now she is headline news when she starts after quite some time as "weekend-nanny". Soi for me she played the DF's game but did not get a real life reward. So that's what I wanted to point out, not the person and her motives to take on such a job.

[Cocoasneeze]

I thought it's been clearly said why these people have quit their job, each time. None of them were because of Meghan. Amy is moving overseas, Samantha quit even before she started to work for Meghan, but was convinced to stay longer. The protection officer quit the entire job. Only one with allegedly leaving because of Meghan is Melissa, and she seems to have been chatty with the tabloids, as they now know her next job too. It might explain why she isn't working for Meghan any more. Imo it's unfair to try to insinuate, that Meghan is the reason for these departures, when aside from Dailymail claims, that's just not the case. Jmo.

[Osipi]

Things are changing and not only in the staff of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Ever since Philip retired and William and Harry and Kate stepped into roles as full time working royals and their roles and focuses are changing. I do believe what we're seeing overall is a soft transition from monarch to monarch as the Queen slows down and is handing off more and more of her charities and patronages to the younger royals and is slowing down more and more which is common sense seeing as the Queen is approaching 93 years young.

Add into that the flurry of activities of 2018 with Harry being engaged, having a royal wedding and starting a family. He also happened to marry a woman eager to join the team and jump right into her own royal role rather than remain on the sidelines to "learn the ropes" and gingerly dip her toe in the water. Meghan hasn't been a member of the royal work force yet for a year and already has had the Queen entrust to her some pretty important work.

As the work force changes in the "Firm", so is the staff that works to keep things running smoothly. The temporary placements did their jobs perhaps while the search was on to find staff that was more in tune with the changes in the royal roles. Christopher Jones is one that will work for both couples in the communication department. Whether working as part of the "fab four" team for the Foundation, as a partner team for Commonwealth purposes or her own individual endeavors, Meghan wants and needs personal staff she can attune with, is adept at managing what needs to be done and can communicate with other staff of other royals to assure things go smoothly.

Communication between KP, CH and BP has been reported to be a right royal mess quite a bit and I've lost count on how many complaints there have been about keeping the CC up to date just among us here. This is a time of transition and restructuring and reforming "how things work" not only for Meghan but actually the entire "Firm".

We get to see these changes as they happen and pay attention to them. We're eagle eyed in that respect. We also see how easy it is to spin something into a "scoop" for those that just read the scoops and not follow the intricacies of day to day life in these people.

[BaiSoSo]

From what I can see and what I have heard of Meghan's relationship with Amy. I can see her encouraging Amy to take advantage of the new opportunities, see more of the world etc. Something Meghan herself did and seemed to enjoy.

[Denim]

I think the aide is moving overseas, so there could be personal reasons why she is leaving.

[Osipi]

Then again, all career moves are not geared to be "movin' on up... to the east side". Sometimes a move is made because its what makes a person happy with what they're doing. Perhaps being a weekend nanny allows her for to pursue other interests. I've heard of big city slicker lawyers moving to small town USA and becoming a furniture maker because that's what made him happy.

We just don't know.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

Well, the Duchess lost at least three key aides in six months or so. It doesn’t prove she is “difficult “ to work with, but it certainly adds to the speculation.

I could not agree more with you. None of us in the public domain know the truth, but it certainly seems to be the case that after years of a fair amount of stability, there is a reasonable amount of staff turnover now.

[Cocoasneeze]

I'm really confused here. Who are the three key aides MEGHAN has lost? And from their departures,what makes it seem like the office isn't a happy one? If someone could direct me to anywhere where it's stated, I'd be really grateful.

[Lyonnaise]

Originally Posted by Cocoasneeze

I thought it's been clearly said why these people have quit their job, each time. None of them were because of Meghan. Amy is moving overseas, Samantha quit even before she started to work for Meghan, but was convinced to stay longer. The protection officer quit the entire job. Only one with allegedly leaving because of Meghan is Melissa, and she seems to have been chatty with the tabloids, as they now know her next job too. It might explain why she isn't working for Meghan any more. Imo it's unfair to try to insinuate, that Meghan is the reason for these departures, when aside from Dailymail claims, that's just not the case. Jmo.

It has. There are just some people who refuse to people that someone can do something without Meghan being the cause.

But ~perception~ and ~optics~ and ~feelings~ and ~this happened to me once so it must be the case now~

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Cocoasneeze

I'm really confused here. Who are the three key aides MEGHAN has lost? And from their departures,what makes it seem like the office isn't a happy one? If someone could direct me to anywhere where it's stated, I'd be really grateful.

Samantha Cohen-who always planned to leave, resigned before Meghan and Harry were engaged. She agreed to stay on longer to help Meghan out.

Amy: who is leaving to take a job abroad.

Melissa: who no one even had heard of before she left working for Meghan. And who seems to have been a new hire when she joined the staff (not someone who was transferred over to help Meghan).

The only one there is any suggestion it was due to Meghan, is Melissa. Both Samantha and Amy left for known reasons, and Amy has said she will remain close to Meghan.

Melissa leaving speaks more IMO to her then to Meghan. Her bad mouthing Meghan to the press speaks of someone who likely didn't leave the job on her own accord. She likely got the boot, and she is being spiteful.

Then again, all career moves are not geared to be "movin' on up... to the east side". Sometimes a move is made because its what makes a person happy with what they're doing. Perhaps being a weekend nanny allows her for to pursue other interests. I've heard of big city slicker lawyers moving to small town USA and becoming a furniture maker because that's what made him happy.

We just don't know.

Yes but those are usually people with the money to pursue 'a hobby as a career'. Worked long years as a lawyer, and now want to relax and open a bar, or build furniture or such. And even those are rare.

If this new job had been right away perhaps it could be believable. But it seems more like after her loose lips she had trouble finding a job and it took this long. Considering she was a PA for Robbie Williams before, her resume should have landed her another good job. Not so much.

...

[ACO]

I am still confused about Melissa who they keep branding as some close aid to Meghan who no one heard of until she "quit." I am still not sure when she ever worked for Meghan.

Samantha was always temp and has stayed on longer. Seems Amy got a great opportunity overseas and took it but is also staying on to make the transition smooth. We all know turnover is pretty common. They have announced in the past weeks the Wessexes and Princess Anne have new staff. Heck the Cambridges got new PS last year.

It is not uncommon.

[JessRulz]

A few posts have been removed. Let's try to keep to facts, not overt speculation on people who are now private persons; and cease with the judgment on said persons career choices.

[Lumutqueen]

https://twitter.com/byqueenvic/statu...858660358?s=21

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Queen has agreed to the creation of a new Household for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, following their marriage in May last year. The Household, which will be created with the support of The Queen and The Prince of Wales, will be established in the spring.

MORE: The Queen has given permission for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to base their Household Office at Buckingham Palace... Sara Latham has been appointed to head up communications for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, reporting directly to The Queen’s Communication Secretary


https://twitter.com/royalreporter/st...814478336?s=21


However, Harry and Meghan's communications team will report to the Queen's Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe. KP comms staff had insisted they would continue to work for both the Cambridges and the Sussexes.


This puts them as the same as Anne, Andrew and the Wessexes as Cepe kindly tweeted;

https://twitter.com/CepeSmith/status...64287331450884

So this is a division of the Kensington Palace household into one for the future Prince and Princess of Wales and one for the Sussexes that will be a subsidiary of the monarch’s office.

https://twitter.com/RoyalReporter/st...63542959951873

They won't however as some have been shouting for, get their own social media.

[Osipi]

This is what I've been expecting for some time now and I also believe the sole reason for it is because the full time royal roles for the Cambridges and the Sussexes are going in different directions.

For the longest time, while both men were still following their own paths (Army, SAR etc), it was easy to work things for WilliamandHarry as a joint entity. Both have married, started families and are taking on very different roles into the future. It is, to me, a necessity, that they each have their own household, their own staff and the move has been made.

Buckingham Palace is a very good choice to be based seeing as the staff of Harry and Meghan accountable to the Queen (or monarch) and rightfully so seeing as a lot of the future work they're going to take on is Commonwealth related.

[ACO]

This is great news. About time.

[soapstar]

Not surprising. The two couples have different roles in the BRF, so it's only natural for them to split households and for Harry and Meghan to go under the umbrella of BP.

Originally Posted by Lumutqueen

They won't however as some have been shouting for, get their own social media.

So will the Royal Family account be the one handling their social media now?

[tommy100]

Not surprised by this. Always felt the Cambridge's as future Prince/Princess of Wales were going to need their own Household.
This move puts the Sussex's in same position as other working royals, their own household based at BP with communication staff reporting to the Queen's Communications Secretary.

[Pranter]

Harry & Meghan new PR guru, Sara Latham, worked for Bill Clinton in the White House in the late 1990s and she was an adviser on Hilary Clinton's failed 2016 US presidential campaign. She has dual US/UK citizenship.

She also has a UK political background - she worked for the late Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.