Thank heaven the monarchy doesn't have a Glassdoor page, because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
just can't seem to hold onto employees.
The couple have reportedly gone through three nannies — and counting — within just five
months since baby Archie was born, and before that, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had already
developed a reputation for a revolving door staff.
The first to go was reportedly Prince Harry's "right hand man" in April 2018, Edward Lane
Fox.
Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry's senior communications secretary, Katrina McKeever, resigned in September
2018.
McKeever, according to the Daily Mail, served as a liaison for Duchess Meghan's family,
and if you know anything about certain members of that crowd, she probably didn't have an
easy job.
"Samantha has been quoted in the British tabloids as calling her sister 'narcissistic and selfish.'"
"Those were never words that I used."
Next was Duchess Meghan's personal assistant, Melissa Touabti, who resigned in November
2018 after working for the Duchess for just six months.
A source told the Mirror that Touabti couldn't stand the pressures that came with working
for the former Suits actress, explaining,
"Meghan put a lot of demands on her and it ended up with her in tears.
She is hugely talented and played a pivotal role in the success of the royal wedding.
She'll be missed by everyone in the household."
In the same month, the Sun reported that Queen Elizabeth II warned Prince Harry and Duchess
Meghan about the newly minted royal's conduct, with insiders alleging that Duchess Meghan
couldn't drop her high Hollywood standards and adjust well to royal life.
Considering her biggest role was on a basic cable drama shot in Toronto, you may want
to take that with a heaping grain of salt ...
"It is always something, It's always some secret, or some story, or some lie ..."
The issues at the time reportedly revolved around which tiara Duchess Meghan would wear
for the royal wedding, with a source revealing,
"Meghan can be difficult.
She has very high standards and is used to working in a Hollywood environment.
However, there's a different degree of respect in the royal household and Kate [Middleton]
has always been very careful about how she has acted around staff."
Biographer Robert Jobson alleged in his book Charles At Seventy that Prince Harry and Duchess
Meghan's wedding in May 2018 put a major strain on most royal staff, going beyond tiffs about
tiaras.
One insider said in the book that Harry got "petulant" with staff, telling them, quote,
"What Meghan wants, she gets."
Another defended the Duchess, saying,
"She is simply not afraid to express her opinion.
While many find her a little pushy there are many in the royal household who have quickly
taken to her."
The Sun also reported that tensions were so high leading up to the royal wedding that
Kate Middleton snapped at Duchess Meghan for allegedly berating her staff, though Kensington
Palace later denied the claim.
In late 2018, the tabloid rumor mill ahead of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's wedding
was turning at such a pace that outlets like the Daily Mail attributed things like her
being "an early riser" and texting staff multiple times a day as problematic behavior.
These descriptions of Meghan, dubious as they were, bred monikers like "Duchess Difficult"
and "Me Gain," according to Express.
During this period, the Sunday Times reported that Samantha "The Panther" Cohen, the couple's
interim private secretary, made it known that "interim" was the key word in her employment
and that she was leaving her post after the birth of Harry and Meghan's baby in spring
2019.
According to the outlet, Duchess Meghan had wanted Cohen, who previously served as Queen
Elizabeth II's personal secretary, to stay on permanently.
A source close to the Duchess told the outlet,
"Sam will be a huge loss.
Going forward, Meghan might need someone cut from a slightly different cloth to traditional
courtiers, who is not a career civil servant or royal insider.
Meghan needs someone with reserves of energy and patience to help her define her future
role."
Still, more exits came.
In January 2019, People revealed that Duchess Meghan's bodyguard resigned after less than
a year on the job, a move that reportedly "gutted" the Duchess.
In March 2019, Harper's Bazaar additionally reported that Duchess Meghan's assistant private
secretary, Amy Pickerill, resigned, but that their parting was an amicable one.
It's important to note, however, that it seems like no one stateside ever appeared to complain
about Duchess Meghan's alleged diva ways, and it's also unclear who the unnamed sources
calling the Duchess of Sussex "difficult" really are.
Royal expert Omid Scobie told Us Weekly that Duchess Meghan's American background may have
provided some issues with her alleged tone.
Scobie says that there are cultural differences at play more than an attitude problem, saying,
"I'm sure there are people in the royal household who don't agree with some things that she
does or with her delivery.
Americans are direct when it comes to business, and Brits are reserved.
So of course some things can be misread at times."
Indeed, another royal expert, Victoria Arbiter, told Express that rumors of Meghan being difficult
to work with stemmed from, quote, "absolutely nothing."
Citing the drama surrounding Samantha Cohen's exit, Arbiter pointed out that the secretary
was never meant to work with the House of Sussex in the long term from the very beginning
of their agreement.
Of course, there's allegedly another big reason why Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's staff
are leaving, and it's a pretty simple one: It's a tough gig that doesn't pay well.
Dickie Arbiter, who worked as a press secretary for Queen Elizabeth II for 12 years, explained
to Global News that working for a young royal family is essentially a recipe for burnout.
Plus, there's better money to be found elsewhere.
He told the outlet,
"We work to earn good money and the private sector is a lot more lucrative."
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