MEGHAN Markle is feeling “abandoned” following the 18th staff member quitting working for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claims an insider.
Josh Kettler has left his role as Prince Harry’s chief-of-staff after only three months – just days before their faux-royal tour to Colombia.
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Another member of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s staff stepped down before their Colombia tourCredit: Splash
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Josh Kettler worked as Harry’s chief-of-staff for just three monthsCredit: Instagram / @aisha_achimugu
Veteran PR supremo Kettler had reportedly been brought in to “guide Harry through his next phase”.
But the staff member stepped down after three months in the role in what Team Sussex insisted was a “mutual decision.”
However, according to Closer source, the latest staffing change has been a “humiliating and demoralising blow” for Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 43.
The source claimed: “Of course they’ve tried damage limitation but, behind closed doors it’s utterly humiliating and demoralising.
“Meghan’s secretly feeling quite abandoned after this keeps happening.”
This comes as Meghan – who lives in a £12million mansion in Montecito with Harry, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three – is preparing to launch her American Riviera Orchard brand and has a Netflix cooking show coming out next year.
Sussex staff quitting
It seems a notable number of their staff have struggled to meet the demands of their roles.
In late 2018, just months after their fairytale wedding — and arguably at the height of their popular appeal — Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Toubati quit after reports she had been “reduced to tears” by the Duchess of Sussex’s demands.
Not long after, private secretary Samantha Cohen, a seasoned royal aide who worked for the late Queen Elizabeth for 17 years, resigned, reportedly frustrated by the couple’s demands.
Harry & Meghan’s aide QUITS after 3 months – so why have 18 of their staff left?
She likened working for them to “managing teenagers”, describing an environment where she was pushed to her limits and allegedly screamed at during their official tour of Australia and the Pacific.
Cohen’s departure was followed by a string of other exits.
In January 2019 Meghan’s female bodyguard of six months, who has never been named for security reasons, also quit.
By March, senior communications secretary Jason Knauf jumped ship amid a string of unsubstantiated bullying complaints against Meghan. He went to work for Prince William and Kate’s Royal Foundation.
Fifteen Palace staff were fired by the Sussexes when they stepped down from royal life.
Harry and Meghan’s PR chief Sarah Latham, who was highly regarded and worked for former US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left the couple after they quit the UK in 2020. Sarah was then recruited for special projects by the late Queen.
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Many friends and people who have worked with the Duchess of Sussex have defended herCredit: Reuters
‘Meghan’s not a diva’
Meghan has previously been defended by friend and make-up artist, Daniel Martin, who broke down in tears as he said that the Duchess is not a diva.
He said: “What’s so frustrating is that you hear these stories and there’s no truth to them.
“It’s not the same person. In the years I’ve known her, the years I’ve worked with her, she’s never had a diva fit, never.
“I think because I know her so well, and I know she doesn’t deserve all this negative press.”
And one of Meghan’s closest pals Janina Gavankar has backed her long-time friend amid the fallout of Megxit and bullying allegations.
Janina, who is close with Meghan and took the Sussexes’ Christmas card photo in 2019, said the Duchess was “not a bully.”
“I have known Meghan for 17 years,” Janina said in a tweet.
“Here’s what she is: kind, strong, open. Here’s what she’s not: ‘a bully’.”
Lindsay Jill Roth, who had Meghan as the maid of honour at her wedding, also said “goodwill runs in her bones”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been contacted for comment.
