All The Details About Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Wild Staff Turnover (So Far)

Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, really as difficult to work with as rumored? Well, based on the dozens of ex-staffers who abruptly quit or were fired, it's safe to say it's nothing like working for Mother Teresa. The couple has been at the center of several bullying accusations stemming from the very beginning of their relationship. It wasn't long into the "Suits" alum's tenure as a senior royal that she reportedly began terrorizing Buckingham Palace — at least according to the staffers who made bullying claims against the Duchess of Sussex. Her reputation as a tyrant even followed her to Montecito, California, after she and Harry set up camp far from the royal family. Former Spotify employees who worked on Meghan's failed podcast saddled her with harsh nicknames due to her allegedly nasty behavior. 

Several communications and public relations experts also seemingly couldn't handle Meghan and Harry's work climate. That, or the couple's constant media storm became too much for some. Either way, the parents of two have cycled through some of the industry's best people for the job, and the public is starting to notice the trend. In December 2025, the Sussexes let go of a large majority of their staff at Archewell Philanthropies (formerly Archewell Foundation) after two prominent employees stepped down from their long-term roles. This came on the heels of several other important personnel on the payroll relinquishing their roles in the summer of 2025. And the list keeps on going... 

While the behavior of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has previously painted them as awful bosses, there appeared to be no bad blood when their chief of staff, Josh Kettler, abruptly stepped down in 2024, after three months on the job. Kettler was working in a trial period at Archewell, never becoming part of their full-time staff. He left right before Harry and Meghan made an official visit to Colombia, which seemed like peculiar timing. However, the managing aide and his bosses reportedly came to the decision about Kettler's departure mutually. 

Kettler spoke fondly of his time working with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, telling Us Weekly that he was "warmly welcomed" by them upon starting his position. "They are dedicated and hardworking," the now-president of The Buckner Company told the outlet. "It was impressive to witness." However, a source told the Daily Mail that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows over at Castle Montecito. "There were aspects of it that he wasn't comfortable with," said the insider. "He thought it was better to leave now than to continue in a job that he did not enjoy." Was Kettle telling the truth about his experience with the Sussexes, or simply saving face to maintain his own professionalism?

Josh Kettler's resignation sparked questions among the media about who else had left Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, behind. Apparently, the former chief of staff was the 18th employee under the Sussexes to hand in their two weeks' notice at the time. The list, going as far back as Harry and Meghan's wedding, included their former chief of communications, Toya Holness, film producer Ben Browning, former PR head Sara Latham, and former personal assistant Melissa Toubati — who reportedly quit after Meghan "left her in tears over her demands" (via the Daily Mail) — among others. 

"Obviously, they are very difficult to work for," Hugo Vickers, a biographer, historian, and royal expert, told The Royal Observer. "If they've lost 18 people, which doesn't actually surprise me. I think it's definitely their fault and not the fault of these people who come in." Indeed, reports blame Meghan's conduct for the high turnover. "It's Meghan. She's unbearable," one insider told NewsNation. "She talks down to people and is very condescending." If Meghan reportedly can't even treat restaurant staff right, it isn't hard to imagine the kind of militantly tight ship she runs in her office. 

In October 2024, Harry and Meghan also parted ways with Ashley Hansen, their global press secretary and communications head, who stepped down from her role with the Sussexes to open her own public relations firm, Three Gate Strategies. The PR pundit said in a statement (via Page Six): "I am incredibly grateful to The Duke and Duchess for their continued trust."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, once again saw their staff dropping like flies in June 2025, when four of their aides left Archewell. Seasoned PR professionals Kyle Boulia and Charlie Gibson, along with two other unnamed staff members, resigned in the midst of what sounded like a rebrand for the Sussexes. "As the Duke and Duchess's business and philanthropic interests grow, I have made the strategic decision to move toward a more traditional communications structure of specialist agency support," then-Chief Communications Officer Meredith Maines said in a statement to Hello! magazine, adding that in lieu of Boulia and Gibson, the couple's PR strategies would be run by an agency.

The office overhaul came in the wake of two poorly-received publicity stunts from the couple: Harry's blundered BBC interview after losing his appeal for U.K. security, and Meghan's viral twerking video that she posted in honor of Princess Lilibet's fourth birthday in 2025. Around the same time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex added Emily Robinson, a former senior publicity director at Netflix, to their spin team. However, Robinson stepped down from her role as director of communications in October 2025. A reported friend of Robinson told the Daily Mail: "She's not a quitter, so things must have been pretty horrible for her to go."

Meredith Maines was hit with a firestorm of image disasters after signing on to work with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in March 2025. Aside from the mess she mopped up in the summer of 2025, Maines was hit with the deleted photo drama between Meghan Markle and Kris Jenner in December, the same month she removed her CCO cap at Archewell Philanthropies. A source told the Daily Mail that it becomes "a miserable and impossible job" when negative media attention illuminates the couple. "Meghan will get disappointed by one thing and then ice someone out," they said. "She will never let you live it down or forget how you let her down and neither will Harry." Others have asserted that it was an organic exit, with no hostility from the couple in terms of how the communications expert did her job. Nonetheless, Maines said in a statement to People that it was "a year of inspiring work."

In the same month, Team Sussex also lost longtime employee James Holt, Archewell's executive director and the couple's former head of engagement and communications, who had been with them since 2019. Not all resignations suggest bad blood; Holt — who moved to California with Harry and Meghan — headed back home to London. In a statement on LinkedIn, Holt said, "Working with Prince Harry and Meghan has been one of the great privileges of my career."

At the same time, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were doing their own reorganizing. According to a Daily Mail report from December 2025, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry terminated three other members of staff, including their director of programs and operations, Kristen Slevin. A rep for the couple denied that any employees were let go, but the outlet reported that staffers were told Archewell was ceasing business.

Still, the rapid staff turnover, especially in 2025, had fans and critics alike raising eyebrows. "Meghan and Harry have hired some of the most incredible people at the top of their fields, yet somehow none of them ever work out," a source with knowledge of the industry told Hello! during their first round of 2025 staff shedding in June. Royal watcher Hilary Fordwich wasn't as surprised, telling Fox News, "This stands as another indication of the dysfunction and instability within their household."