Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fire UK staff, close Buckingham Palace office
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are continuing to distance themselves from royal life, letting go of all 15 of the UK staffers who served their office in Buckingham Palace, the Daily Mail reports.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly broke the news to their employees last month following their decision to step down as senior royals, aka Megxit. One or two of their axed staffers may find their way back into the royal household, but most are now negotiating their severance packages.
Buckingham Palace does not speak on staffing matters, but it is reportedly understood that senior royals such as the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William are aware of the office closure and layoffs.
“Given their decision to step back, an office at Buckingham Palace is no longer needed,” a source told the Mail. “While the details are still being finalized and efforts are being made to redeploy people within the royal household, unfortunately, there will be some redundancies [firings].”
Fired staffers include communications chief Sara Latham and newly appointed private secretary Fiona Mcilwham.
Clara Loughran — Harry’s program coordinator who handed Meghan her bouquet on her wedding day — also got the boot.
“The Duke and Duchess have a small team, less than 15 people. The team are very loyal to the Sussexes and understand and respect the decision they have taken,” the source said. “They are all close and supporting each other. The team are busy helping to set their Royal Highnesses up for the future and working on a series of final engagements.”
Earlier this month, the couple were keynote speakers at a swanky JPMorgan summit on South Beach in Miami.
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