Royal Mutiny: After Harry and Meghan's 'Chief of Staff' Dramatically Quits, We Reveal Why Struggling Pair Have Lost 18 Key Workers
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry lost their company's chief of staff in dramatic fashion, and we can now reveal the reason why the royal rebels lost 18 key employees as well.
Just how "monstrous" is it to work for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry?
The beleaguered royal rebels' ex-chief of staff, Josh Kettler, found out the hard way, in addition to 18 key employees the former working royals have lost, of which nine parted ways with the duo since their 2020 arrival in Montecito, Calif.
That number also stretches back to include ex-staffers during their time as senior working royals from mid-2018 to early 2020. The pair's Kensington Palace workers even jokingly titled themselves the "Sussex Survivor's Club," as some admitted to having mild Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Meghan's "reign of h---."
This also led one ex-Sussex aide to joke: "Perhaps there should be a Montecito arm of the Sussex Survivors' Club."
For many, this comes as no surprise, since in the run-up to his 2018 nuptials, Harry did tell veteran royal fashion designer and the late Queen Elizabeth II's longtime dresser, Angela Kelly, that what "Meghan wants, Meghan gets." 18 workers later, and it is becoming clear to many that they could "give two flying s---- what that woke Stepford wife psychopath wants."
Harry and Meghan experienced a rapid turnover of staff, with several key aides leaving shortly after their wedding due to reportedly difficult working conditions. High-profile departures included personal assistant Melissa Toubati, private secretary Samantha Cohen, and senior communications secretary Jason Knauf, all citing challenges in managing the couple’s demands. This pattern continued as Meghan's bodyguard, several nannies, and PR chief Sarah Latham also exited their roles, underscoring the challenges in trying to serve the pair.
Following the Duke and Duchess' controversial Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021, allegations surfaced that Meghan had bullied Buckingham Palace staff, leading to an investigation by an external law firm, though the results were never made public.
In California, Meghan and Harry experienced even further staff turnover, parting ways with long-time talent agent Nick Collins and close friend Keleigh Thomas-Morgan. More notable departures include communications chief Toya Holness, Archewell executives Catherine St-Laurent and Mandana Dayani, and Oscar-nominated film producer Ben Browning, who left after Archewell's podcast was dropped by Spotify.
This led royal historian Hugo Vickers to observe how the Sussex walkouts are "certainly not a coincidence."
He added: "Obviously they are very difficult to work for, and it's always in the sense it's always the worst possible sign. If people can't keep members of staff or household secretaries, advisors, and so forth, this invariably means that there's a clash of personalities, and if they've lost 18 people, which doesn't actually surprise me. I think it's definitely their fault and not the fault of these people who come in."
Kettler's resignation comes only three months before Harry and Meghan's second "faux royal tour," this time to Colombia, which no doubt will need someone running the itinerary behind the scenes.
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The Sun reported on Sussex staff firings.
