PALACE PANIC — Prince William recruits crisis expert amid Andrew scandal, Harry drama and royal health fears

Prince William has hired a crisis management expert as the Royal Family continues to wrestle with the fall-out from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Liza Ravenscroft – described as ‘bulletproof sunshine’ by a former boss – has been recruited from the blue-chip communications firm Edelman, where she works ‘arm in arm with big names facing into their toughest times’.

That description could apply to William as the Andrew saga rumbles on – while the monarchy also deals with dramas surrounding Prince Harry and the cancer treatments undertaken by both the King and the Princess of Wales.

Ms Ravenscroft, who runs the UK Crisis & Issues team, is understood to have been championed by Julian Payne, a former communications secretary to Charles and Camilla who is now the CEO of Edelman.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Julian Payne has stayed close to the King, so it is unlikely to be a coincidence that one of his most senior and respected members of staff has taken a key role in William’s office after a period of turmoil – and when they are looking for closer alignment between Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace as minds turn to William’s eventual succession’.

A Kensington Palace source said that communications experts for the royal family boasted ‘a range of experience’ and Ms Ravenscroft would be operating in a ‘non-crisis’ role.

Ms Ravenscroft declares on her CV that ‘multinational brands have never had higher expectations nor more scrutiny when things go wrong’, and boasts that she tells companies ‘how to get past an issue as quickly as possible with minimum dents….It’s often front-page stuff: from boycott campaigns to sexual allegations to serious safety issues, geopolitical and ethical risks’.

Andrew has been stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his 30-bedroom mansion Royal Lodge in Windsor, but questions continue to mount about the extent and duration of his links to the late paedophile.

Prince William and Princess Catherine at Charing Cross Hospital last week. The Prince of Wales has hired a crisis management expert as the Royal Family continues to wrestle with the fall-out from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Liza Ravenscroft  (pictured) – described as ‘bulletproof sunshine’ by a former boss – has been recruited from the blue-chip communications firm Edelman, where she works ‘arm in arm with big names facing into their toughest times’

Meanwhile, Prince Harry continues to attract attention for his relationship with Charles and William, his battles with the media and his security arrangements.

Ms Ravenscroft, who previously held roles at British Airways and Marriott hotels, says on the CV that a former boss described her as ‘bulletproof sunshine’, and that she is a ‘seasoned media handler who believes in the power of strong relationships to defend and charm in equal measure’.

She adds that as she is ‘off to adventures new’ there is a ‘gem of a job’ available at her company. She writes: ‘If crisis makes your eyes sparkle and supporting big-name companies through them gets you out of bed in the morning then try mine on for size’.

The British Monarchy – known as ‘The Firm’ – was recently rated by the US data firm Statista as the world’s fifth strongest brand after Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple. Mr Payne spent five years as communications secretary to Charles, after a stint as director of communications for the BBC, leaving in 2021.

Talking to royal author Robert Hardman last year, Mr Payne described the monarchy as a ‘brand’ with a communications operation of around a dozen people but ‘a boss with a thousand years of history behind him’. He said: ‘People could see the King come and go during his illness and looking happy. That transparency has been so important.’

A Kensington Palace source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Liza is joining in a non-crisis based role in the KP press office, working on the day-to-day press interaction Kensington Palace has.

They explained: ‘People who work in communications for the Royal Household come from an array of backgrounds.’