Daniela Elser: Sussex dropout list: Meghan and Harry lose an employee every three months

OPINION:

On the long list of royal family sins – their propensity to crush little boys in suits, their penchant for the culinary abomination that is Eggs Drumkilbo, all those Nazi sympathizers lurking in the family tree, let’s add another: to They often pay their staff terribly.

See, the Queen could literally have her own money (her face is in all British denominations) but it seems she doesn’t particularly like parting with wrinkled things. In 2018, it was revealed that Buckingham Palace advertised cleaning roles that paid below London’s living wage, definitely not so fancy, Your Majesty.

Still, despite this petty approach, the royal household has somehow ended up with a circle of dedicated servants, a fact that may or may not have something to do with the fact that Buckingham Palace has a staff pool. . (They also enjoy movie nights. Finally, a time for Prince Edward to shine!)

Things are even more joyous for the Queen’s high-level employees, who are often given houses of grace and favors, paid six figures, and resolutely stick around for decades.

The queen’s boudoir and so-called “guardian” Angela Kelly has been with the palace for almost 20 years, while Paul Whybrew, Page of the Backstairs, is one of the most trusted helpers for 94 years and has been a member of the royal staff. for almost 40 years.

(Yes, seriously, that’s his job title. The sovereign has, among many, many other employees, a Swan Marker, a Purse Bearer, and a Robe Lady. So identifiable!)

That’s why the staff turnover of Harry and Megan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has been surprising.

This week, it was revealed that Catherine St-Laurent, her chief of staff and CEO of her nonprofit Archewell Foundation, would be stepping down with just 11 months in office and “moving into an advisory role.”

According to a report by The Telegraph, St-Laurent, who had previously advised Bill and Melinda Gates, “wanted out.”

“I think he had the feeling that he had a lot of duties to fulfill for the couple, not all of which were necessarily in the specifications of his job,” one “well-placed insider” told the British newspaper.

St-Laurent is the 12th Sussex staff member to leave their job since their wedding in 2018, which translates, on average, to losing someone less than every three months.

According to The Telegraph, two PAs, Meghan’s assistant private secretary and two babysitters, are among the dozen who have resigned.

The Times reported earlier this week that before the big Sussex day, “tensions in the Kensington Palace house, which the brothers then still shared, were increasing” and that, according to a source close to the duke and his brother , Prince William, “William would personally try to fix it” when “there was … a staff member about to quit.”

Reports have circulated since late 2018 about Harry and Meghan’s relationship with their staff when it was revealed that Melissa Toubati, the Duchess’s personal assistant, had resigned after six months.

A source told The Mirror at the time that Toubati had “put up with a lot. Meghan made a lot of demands on her and ended up with her crying.”

However, last year’s Sussex biography “Finding Freedom” painted a very different picture, reporting that “according to multiple sources familiar with [Toubati’s] sudden departure … the couple had become dissatisfied with Melissa’s work and were not disappointed when she left. “

Earlier this month, the Times broke the news that the actress-turned-royalty had faced a bullying complaint from Jason Knauf, the couple’s then communications secretary, in 2018, who wrote in an email. email to Simon Case, then Duke of Cambridge. private secretary: “The duchess seems determined to always have someone in her sights.” The email was then sent to Samantha Carruthers, Director of Human Resources.

According to the report, “at times, staff would cry; an aide, anticipating a confrontation with Meghan, told a colleague, ‘I can’t stop shaking.’

“Another former employee told the Times that he had been personally ‘humiliated’ by her and claimed that two staff members had been intimidated.”

A spokesman for Harry and Meghan said the allegations were part of a “calculated smear campaign” and that the newspaper was “being used by Buckingham Palace to sell a totally false narrative.”

A royal source later told the Times: “The worst royal incidents have not come out. There are some heartbreaking stories to tell,” while another palace source claimed: “There are many things that could come out in the wash that you have not been told “.

Almost two weeks after that, it was revealed that Buckingham Palace had appointed an outside law firm to conduct an independent review. Meghan reportedly wrote to the palace requesting evidence regarding the allegations.

A controversial Tatler story last year, which was edited after palace lawyers demanded that the British society bible amend parts of the story, also highlighted alleged differences in the way Meghan and her sister-in-law Kate Duchess de Cambridge related to employees.

“Kate, who has impeccable manners, looked for the opportunity to put Meghan in her place, berating her for speaking imperiously with her Kensington Palace staff,” wrote writer Anna Pasternak. Elsewhere, another courtier was quoted as saying, “Kate stays with her staff, while Meghan doesn’t. Doesn’t she say it all?”

(Some of Team Kate’s star players have been Rebecca Deacon, who was his private secretary from 2012 to 2017, during which he married in the Royal Chapel at St James’s Palace, a benefit only available to those with close ties. with the royal house. The same year, she was awarded the Royal Victorian Order by William. Then there is the PA and dressing room Natasha Archer, who has worked with the Duchess since 2014 and also received an RVO in 2019. Assistant Sophie Agnew recorded seven years working for royalty.)

However, elsewhere it has been reported that Meghan is a dream boss, surprising the staff with delicious treats.

In February 2019, in a People story, an anonymous co-star revealed, “I passed by. [Kensington Palace] one day, and had ordered an amazing ice cream and sorbet stand for the office.

“They were commenting that it was the ‘best day of work of my life’. It touched me to see her continue to be her and bring her style to the UK.”

(Say what you like about the Queen, but I’m pretty sure you’ve never treated your staff to spontaneous rainbow-dusted chocolate ice cream cones after a hard day polishing all your gold plate.)

Most recently, when Harry and Meghan returned to the UK for their final series of official engagements in early March 2020, they hosted a farewell luncheon for their team at the five-star Goring Hotel.

Still, it’s not all bad news for the Sussexes. The duo announced that they have added new hard drives to their U.S. team this week, naming Oscar-nominated producer Ben Browning as Archewell’s chief content officer and naming Invisible Hand, a New York firm founded by Genevieve Roth, as advisers.

Maybe it’s time to make the ice cream stand out again.

• Daniela Elser is a real expert and writer with over 15 years of experience working with several of Australia’s leading media outlets.