Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have seen another staff member step down from their charity Sentebale – and they are not the first high-flyer who has worked for the Sussexes to then quickly move on

A new team quickly formed around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when they dramatically quit their royal roles and moved to the United States for a new life.

But the couple soon gained something of a reputation for being unable to hang on to employees as they forge ahead with their charitable and production ventures outside the Firm. In recent weeks, three top executives at Harry’s charity, Sentebale, have stepped down – taking the total number of staff leaving them to 21.

In a major blow, the London-based chief executive of the charity that Harry co-founded in 2006, alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, stepped back after five years in the position – and isn’t set to be replaced. Instead, the Daily Mail reports, Richard Miller, aged 62, will be replaced by an “interim executive director” – Carmel Gaillard – who has been tasked with completing a “strategic transformation” of Sentbale and is based in Johannesburg.

The news comes only a few months after it was revealed that Harry’s chief of staff had left his role after just three months. Josh Kettler, a high-flying PR executive, took up the senior post working with Harry in May ahead of the Sussexes’ tour to Nigeria.

His departure came as Harry and Meghan were preparing for their working trip to Colombia in August. It is understood Mr Kettler was hired on a trial basis and the decision to part ways was mutual, with both sides agreeing it was not the correct fit. These names are not the only staff members to leave in recent years…

Prince Harry, whose chief of staff has left his position ( 
Image:

Josh Kettler, who has quit as chief of staff ( 
Image:
Getty Images for Invictus Games Foundation)

Stepping back from Sentebale

Since he co-founded Sentebale – which means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, a nod to the late Princess Diana’s favourite flower – Harry has been dedicated to the charity, which works with children and young people living with HIV/AIDS. The news that Richard Miller will be giving up his role as chief executive comes after two other major resignations within the charity.

Baroness Chalker – the overseas development minister – has stepped back from the board of trustees after 18 years, but despite leaving her official position has said through a spokesperson that “her commitment to the charity and the Duke of Sussex remains unwavering”.

The Mail reports that alongside Baroness Chalker and Richard Miller, Sentebale also recently lost another important figure: Andrew Tucker. Said to have been dubbed as ‘Tucks’ by Harry, Tucker had held a senior position at the charity for a decade, before stepping away.

Richard Miller has said about his exit from the charity: “It is the logical next step for Sentebale, and the time is right for this shift to local leadership. Carmel is an incredible asset to position Sentebale further as a leader in the region.”

For their part, cofounders Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said in a joint statement: “This shift reflects our continued commitment to being guided by voices from within the region we serve. We sincerely thank Richard for his pivotal role in steering our organisation toward this important evolution.”

Royal exodus

After Harry and Meghan wed in May 2018, the couple, who were still working royals at this point, saw a string of staff changes with several leaving their posts. Among those leaving were senior communications secretary Katrina McKeever, Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Toubati, a female royal protection officer and their assistant private secretary Amy Pickerill.

Melissa Toubati mysteriously handed in her notice after just six months with the Duchess of Sussex. A source said: “Her job was highly ­pressurised and in the end it became too much. She put up with quite a lot. Meghan put a lot of demands on her and it ended up with her in tears.

“She is hugely talented and played a pivotal role in the success of the royal wedding. She’ll be missed by everyone in the household. Melissa is a total professional and fantastic at her job, but things came to a head and it was easier for them both to go their separate ways.”

Meghan Markle with the late Queen and Samantha Cohen in 2018 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
In October 2019, their private secretary Samantha Cohen, who had worked for the late Queen also left. Former Times royal correspondent Valentine Low claimed in his book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, that fed-up Ms Cohen likened the job to “working with teenagers”.

In his book, author Low told how Ms Cohen organised the couple’s first official tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand but alleged she ended up being “screamed at”. “Sam always made clear that it was like working for a couple of teenagers,” Low claimed a source said. “They (Meghan and Prince Harry) were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable.”

Ms Cohen left soon after, told Australia’s Herald Sun that she only agreed to a short secondment but was unable to leave as the palace couldn’t find anyone willing to replace her. She said: “I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18 – we couldn’t find a replacement for me and when we did we took them on tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to show them the ropes but they left (quit) as well while in Africa.” Meanwhile, after they left the royal lives behind, their director of communications Sara Latham also parted ways with them.

Archewell execs

When Harry and Meghan quit the UK for the USA, they quickly set up their charitable organisation Archewell, making several big appointments including chief of staff Catherine St Laurent.

However, she only completed 11 months in the role before she moved on. In an interview with The Cut, she described working for Harry and Meghan as “an incredible experience”. She added: “They are incredibly talented and creative leaders. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do that, to be able to be with them on their journey. The time that I spent with them was incredibly fulfilling.”

Former Archewell executive Catherine St Laurent ( 
Image:
Linkedin)

Just months later, the couple’s global press secretary Toya Holness also left Archewell after just a year in the role. She had been tasked with overseeing the Sussexes’ PR on both sides of the Atlantic. Insiders at the time claimed she “wanted out” after finding herself “having to fulfil a great many functions for the couple”.

The in December 2022, just days before Harry and Meghan’s controversial documentary landed on Netflix, then president of Archewell Mandana Dayani left her post after just 18 months. At the time, it was understood that Harry and Meghan were to take on full leadership of the organisation, and a statement from Archewell was at pains to make clear they had not fallen out.

Meanwhile, last year, Fara Taylor, who was in charge of marketing at Archewell also left the organisation as Harry and Meghan looked to ‘streamline’ staff.

Production staff

However, it hasn’t just been from their charitable arm where Harry and Meghan have lost staff. They’ve also seen a high turnover from their production company. The couple set up the production arm in the wake of signing multi-million dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify.

But in December 2022, the head of Archewell Audio, Rebecca Sananes, quit after being hired to work on Meghan’s Archetypes podcast. The podcast lasted one season on Spotify before the Sussexes’ deal with the streaming giant was axed.

Last year, Nishika Kumble, who was the senior vice-president of scripted television at Archewell, left after less than two years. She was closely followed by TV executive Bennett Levine, whose departure was described as a “serious blow”, after he moved to a rival organisation.

Also quitting was Oscar-winning producer Ben Browning, who worked on the Netflix docu-series Harry & Meghan, who had been their head of internal content.