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They're no walk in the park
By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 09, 2022
Despite the successful release of their new Netflix docuseries, it's been a rough week in the world of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
In the past week alone, the Sussexes have lost two high-profile staff members from their media company Archewell — the 13th and 14th employees to resign from the royals' staff since just 2018.
Both staff members had worked for the couple for less than two years.
The couple have faced numerous accusations of mistreating their staff since Markle's entry into — and swift exit out of — the royal family.
Of course, with the pair denying many of the accusations, it's hard to know what is fact and what is tabloid gossip but given how many staff members have made the leap in a short space of time there must be something awry.
Here are 6 reasons Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's staff keep quitting.
1. They're too demanding.
Toya Holness was said to be one of Markle's and Harry's closest confidantes, leading to her promotion as the top overseer of their PR in both the US and UK less than six months into her tenure.
But a little over a year later, this past May, she abruptly resigned, reportedly due to "having to fulfill a great many functions for the couple," according to an unnamed insider close to the couple.
Another unnamed aide reported a similarly overwhelming working dynamic with Markle and Harry in a supposed tell-all book, Valentine Low's "Courtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown,"
She told Low that one of her breaking points was being hounded by the couple on a Friday night while at dinner—and that such demands were constant. As she told Low:
“You could not escape them. There were no lines or boundaries—it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.”
2. They have allegedly brought staff members to tears.
Harry and Markle's allegedly abusive treatment of their employees was among the biggest bombshells in Low's book.
One of Markle's former personal assistants, Melissa Toubati, is said to have resigned after Markle left her "in tears."
Markle faced a similar accusation during her time in the royal family when she was accused of making Kate Middleton cry during the run-up to the Sussex's 2018 wedding.
During her bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, the former "Suits" actress denied the allegation, that surfaced in tabloids, and claimed the reverse had happened.
"We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior..."
6. They're accused of being manipulative.
Low's book reports that Meghan and Harry played so many head games that a group of employees who called themselves the Sussex Survivors’ Club developed an inside catchphrase among themselves—"We were played."
One example involves "tiara-gate"—the now infamous incident in which the late Queen Elizabeth II supposedly reneged on her promise to loan Markle a tiara for her wedding, as she had for Princess Kate.
But according to staffers who spoke with Low, Markle was denied the tiara because she insisted she be given the piece at a time when the dresser in charge of it was unavailable.
The couple, convinced Markle was being slighted, then allegedly decided to have Prince Harry pull rank and berate the dresser into giving Markle the tiara.
But the Queen swiftly intervened, and Harry was "firmly put in his place."
In the end, only those on the inside know the true story, and given the endless, and often racist, vitriol toward Harry and Meghan, we should be careful about taking allegations against them at face value.
Still, the details reported by former staff and the wave of resignations suggest working for the Sussexes may not exactly be a picnic.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.