It’s been a rough week in the world of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, despite the successful release of their new Netflix documentary series.
Last week alone, the Sussexes lost two prominent staff members at media company Archewell. It’s his 13th and his 14th employee to resign from the royal staff since 2018.
Both staff had worked for the couple for less than two years.
The couple have faced numerous accusations of abusing staff since Markle entered the royal family and quickly left.
Of course, the pair have denied many of the accusations, so it’s hard to know what’s fact and what’s tabloid gossip, but given how many staffers have made the leap in a short space of time, it’s hard to tell what. There must be some problem.
6 reasons why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s staff keep quitting.
1. Too demanding.
Toyah Holness is said to be one of Markle and Harry’s closest confidantes, leading to her promotion as chief director of PR in both the US and UK less than six months into her tenure.
However, just over a year later, in May of this year, she reportedly abruptly resigned.
Another unnamed aide reported equally overwhelming work dynamics with Markle and Harry In the commonplace book, Courtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown, by Valentine Law,
She told Lowe that one of her breaking points was being cornered by a couple at dinner on Friday night, and that such demands were always there.As she told Lowe:
“There was no escape from them. There were no lines or boundaries. It was last at night and best in the morning.”
2. They allegedly made the staff cry.
Harry and Markle’s abusive treatment of their employees was one of the biggest bombshells in Lowe’s book.
One of Markle’s former personal assistants, Melissa Tubatty, is said to have resigned after Markle left her “in tears.”
Markle faced similar accusations during her time in the royal family when she was accused of making Kate Middleton cry while preparing for her 2018 wedding in Sussex.
In a shocking 2021 interview with Oprah, the former “Suits” actress denied the allegations that surfaced in the tabloids, claiming the opposite happened.
“We keep getting reports from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior…”
6. Being accused of manipulative.
According to Low’s book, Meghan and Harry played so many head games that a group of employees calling themselves the Sussex Survivors’ Club reportedly developed an internal catchphrase.
One example is the “Tiaragate”, the now infamous incident in which the late Queen Elizabeth II, like Princess Kate, broke a promise to lend Markle a tiara for her wedding.
However, according to staff members who spoke with Law, Markle was denied the tiara because she claimed she would be given one while the dresser in charge was away.
The couple is said to have been so convinced that Markle was being neglected that they decided to have Prince Harry rise in rank, angering the dresser into giving Markle the tiara.
However, the Queen quickly intervened and Harry was “firmly put in his place”.
Ultimately, only people on the inside know the real story, and given the endless and often racist vitriol against Harry and Meghan, we are forced to take the allegations against them at face value. You have to be careful.
Still, the details and wave of resignations reported by former staffers suggest working in Sussex may not be a picnic.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer covering topics of pop culture, social justice and human good.
