Harry and Meghan lose their tenth publicist in just five years
A high-profile hire has abruptly left her role with the couple after only four months, in just the latest chapter in their staffing woes.
IN LONDON
Prince Harry and Meghan have lost their tenth publicist in just five years following the departure of an employee who was just a few months into the role.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have been plagued with reports of staffing issues since they quit royal duties and moved to the US in 2020, have now parted ways with Emily Robinson, a former senior director of publicity at Netflix, according to the Daily Mail.
Ms Robinson – who, rather ironically, worked on shows such as The Crown – was appointed as director of communications in June to co-ordinate media strategy for the royal couple.
She reportedly quit the role this month, with a source close to her telling the Mail that it was “her decision” and that she’d left “a few weeks ago”.
“She’s not a quitter, so things must have been pretty horrible for her to go,” the friend said.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told news.com.au: “Miss Robinson oversaw project-based work for a very successful season of With Love, Meghan and additional support for the production company. She did an excellent job and completed these projects with great success”.
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The couple has had a high turnover of PR staff in recent years, although two of those who left their roles were promoted into other positions.
In July, it was widely reported that a number of members of their team had departed in close succession.
Among them was Charlie Gipson, their European communications director, and Kyle Boulia, their LA-based deputy press secretary, who were let go after barely a year on the job.
The Sun reported at the time that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had blamed them for failing to counter a spate of negative media coverage.
Their current team is led by chief communications officer Meredith Maines in the US and UK-based Liam Maguire, the director of communications in Europe.
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In June, when the Sussex team changes came to light, the UK’s Telegraph claimed that, in total, six employees had left or been fired in relatively close succession.
Along with Gipson and Boulia, it reportedly included the head of operations at Archewell, Lianne Cashin, Archewell’s director of communications, Deesha Tank, and Meghan’s social media manager.
The development inevitably reignited previous allegations of Meghan’s management style, with an unflattering Vanity Fair article earlier this year painting her as a ruthless boss.
One ex-staffer compared Meghan to a “Mean Girls teenager”, and described working on her Archetypes podcast as “really, really awful” and “very painful”.
Others described “taking extended breaks” to “escape scrutiny” or “undergoing long-term therapy” after working with her.
Both Harry and Meghan have strenuously denied allegations of poor behaviour toward staff in the past.
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