Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s key staff member quits in latest blow to pair

Need to be aware

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a reputation for having aides who quit on them, which is not good for them in the USA.

What you need to know about the aides who have left their positions with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

After decades of service, their most dependable advisor has stopped working with them, severely hurting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The royal couple has dealt with a lot of staff, but eleven publicists have also left their jobs.
• James Holt, who had been hailed as Prince Harry and Meghan’s “rock,” quit over the 2025 Christmas season. He had previously served as the couple’s executive director of the couple’s charity, the Archewell Foundation, during their contentious exit from the UK, during Harry’s autobiography, Spare, and before that.
• Holt assisted the couple in managing their lives as they turned their backs on the UK and moved to California, where he moved with them to continue working. He was their PR from 2019 until 2021. He also addressed their working relationship in their Netflix documentary. However, he is said to have left their organization and left to move back to the UK with his wife and child and start a new life. However, he will have a transition period during which he will continue to support the couple and their charity.
• He stated in a statement that he had spotted a kindred spirit that would never waver in the face of difficulty and who would never waver in spite of circumstance when they met Meghan. The work we’ve done together to help victims of online harm will continue to be my most meaningful professional endeavor above everything else. These families inspire me every day and are extraordinary. My family and I are now moving back to London after five incredible years in Los Angeles. I’ll be a huge fan and optimistic about what lies ahead when I take the team-leader position at Archewell Philanthropies in the upcoming months.
• Holt is not the only person to stop working for Harry and Meghan. After just ten months, Meredith Maines, the pair’s chief communications officer, was made known earlier this week.
• After just three months of working with the couple, Emily Robinson, Harry and Meghan’s director of communications and former PR executive, quit earlier this year. She made her decision, a source told the Daily Mail in October. She left a few weeks ago. Because she doesn’t give up, things must have been pretty bad for her.
• The Sussexes have a reputation for having high staff turnover since moving to the US, with Josh Kettler, Harry’s former chief of staff, only spending three months there. In a Vanity Fair magazine cover story earlier this year, a report in the Hollywood Reporter claimed Meghan “belittles people” and “doesn’t take advice.”
• Josh previously addressed the couple’s claims that they were difficult to work for, saying: “They are dedicated and hardworking. It was fascinating to witness. And he continued, adding that both them and their Archewell team “warmly welcomed” him.
• Ashley Hansen was hired by the Sussexes as their global press secretary in May 2022, but she resigned in October 2024. The PR announced at the time that she was leaving the duo to launch her own business, Three Gate Strategies.
• Kyle Boulia left the couple’s press office in April 2024 and became their press secretary and director of communications in June 2025. After he left, he updated his LinkedIn profile to read, “Most recently, I served as Director of Communications at Archewell, where I oversaw global press operations, crisis response, and global launches with Netflix, Spotify, and major philanthropic initiatives,” shaping narratives that reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
• From April 2024 to July 2025, Charlie Gipson served as the couple’s European Communications Director. He stated on his LinkedIn profile that he had “led the UK and European media strategy, delivered high-impact communications for their global charitable initiatives,” that he had also “provided senior counsel on strategic planning and crisis management, supported international engagements, and led campaigns that reached billions worldwide.”
• Toya Holness served the couple’s press for nine months, starting in October 2020 until July 2021, before moving on to become the pair’s head of communications. She was praised by royal fans for dressing similarly to Meghan. However, she left Activision Blizzard after 11 months and began working there.
• In May of this year, Prince Harry appointed Josh Kettler as his chief of staff, and he was responsible for shepherding the Prince “through his next phase” while adapting to life outside of the UK. He took part in meetings involving Harry’s Invictus Games project and provided tours abroad, but he abruptly left after just three months.
• Christine Schirmer is another well-known senior communications advisor who has collaborated with the couple. She started her position at Archewell in October 2020, moving up to senior advisor in 2021, and leaving in 2023.
• Miranda Barbot started out as a communications manager for Archewell and rose to the position of director of global communications in October 2022. She served the couple’s charity until October 2024. However, according to reports, she switched from being the couple’s chief of staff to working there.
• Deesha Tank served as the Sussexes’ main PR agent until June of this year, but she resigned. After quitting her position with the royals in June, she started out as a communications manager for the couple in 2022 and later rose to the position of director of communications in 2024.
• READ MORE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s “rock” quits a sizable job as a result of a fresh blow.