[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
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They may have upped sticks and moved to California four years ago, but Meghan Markle and Prince Harry still can\u2019t seem to find their feet. Despite several attempts to revamp their public image, with an Oprah interview, a short-lived Spotify deal, a Netflix series, a memoir and an aspirational lifestyle brand, there is still something precluding people from fully embracing the couple.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t help that they have lost 18 staff members since they got married in 2018. In August, the couple\u2019s chief of staff, Josh Kettler, reportedly resigned after just three months. He joins Toya Holness, their former global press secretary who left in 2022, Christine Weil, who quit as head of PR in 2021 and Samantha Cohen, Markle\u2019s top aide and private secretary who left the same year. As well as Keleigh Thomas Morgan, who briefly repped the couple after first working with Markle during her time on Suits, Catherine St Laurent, who spent a year as the head of the Sussexes\u2019 charity Archewell, Mandana Dayani, the charity\u2019s former COO, Ben Browning, who worked as their content chief and Fara Taylor, their former marketing chief.<\/p>\n
When you put it like that \u2013 it doesn\u2019t look good. The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s damning deep-dive into the couple\u2019s staffing issue labels this group of former employees the \u2018Sussex Survivors Club\u2019. But what exactly are they surviving? According to the \u2018close source\u2019 listed in the report, \u2018everyone\u2019s terrified of Meghan\u2019. The source goes on to say, \u2018She belittles people, she doesn\u2019t take advice. They\u2019re both poor decision makers, they change their minds frequently.\u2019 Later adding that while Harry is a \u2018very charming person\u2019 he is also \u2018an enabler\u2019, and Markle is \u2018just terrible\u2019.<\/p>\n
The article went on to cite \u2018noisy tantrums\u2019 and \u2018angry 5am emails\u2019 as the reason for Markle\u2019s title of \u2018Duchess Difficult\u2019. One source went as far as to say, \u2018She marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders. I\u2019ve watched her reduce grown men to tears.\u2019 If ever there was need for a loyal PR staffer\u2026<\/p>\n
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And it\u2019s not the first time claims of this nature have surfaced. In 2018, Markle\u2019s alleged treatment of two royal aides prompted Buckingham Palace to investigate her \u2018bullying behaviour\u2019. The results of which were never published and Markle dismissed the investigation as a \u2018calculated smear campaign\u2019. Something she has arguably become all too accustomed to since marrying into the royal family; airing her grievances with \u2018the firm\u2019 and the British media in the couple\u2019s Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, in 2022.<\/p>\n
In an ostensive counter report, US Weekly claims to have spoken to one of the couple\u2019s current staff members who called the allegations \u2018wildly inaccurate\u2019 and \u2018damaging\u2019. Instead, the source said Prince Harry and Markle were the \u2018best bosses [they have] ever had\u2019, while an ex-staffer said working with the couple was \u2018truly an honour\u2019. Meanwhile, Kettler, who left in August after three months, went on record to say the couple were \u2018dedicated and hardworking\u2019 and \u2018it was impressive to witness\u2019. The anonymous current employee chalked the Sussexes\u2019 staff turnover up to inevitable career changes. \u2018People leave at any company,\u2019 they said, \u2018they get new opportunities, change their careers or feel their role isn\u2019t the right fit.\u2019<\/p>\n
So, who to believe? The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan, for his part, has said he stands by the story after facing backlash from the couple\u2019s friends and supporters. As well as Markle herself, who has previously denied all claims of bullying staff.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, this is exactly the type of press they work so hard to avoid, and the type of press it takes a team of experienced and loyal staff to tackle in the right way. What\u2019s clear is that there is a growing discrepancy between the couple\u2019s manicured public image and what allegedly goes on behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
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IMAGE: IMAGO<\/p>\n
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