Prince Harry’s former private secretary joins Rio Tinto

Samantha Cohen, now chief of staff to the mining giant’s CEO, bore the brunt of the Sussexes’ difficult nature.

Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth II, accompanised by Samantha Cohen, in 2018. Ms Cohen later went to work for Boris Johnson. Picture: Max Mumby/Getty

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has hired as his chief of staff an Australian who served as private secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Samantha Cohen – who had worked for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from June 2018 to October 2019 – began at the iron ore major earlier this week.

Ms Cohen will replace Rachel Storrs, a long-time Rio staffer. A Rio spokesman said: “We’re delighted Sam is joining and thank Rachel for her significant contribution in the role.”

Ms Storrs is expected to remain with Rio, where she previously worked in the investor relations team.

Ms Cohen had, before her appointment as Prince Harry’s private secretary, worked as deputy and assistant private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II. Despite deciding to leave her position, Ms Cohen was convinced to remain and instead help Prince Harry by the Queen, according to an account published by The Times of London reporter Valentine Low.

In his book, Low, who has extensively covered the royal family, described Ms Cohen as “one of the most popular and well-regarded members of the Queen’s household”, adding that she had worked there for 17 years.

However, Ms Cohen found it was difficult to make the couple happy, Low wrote, quoting one anonymous source who said she was treated “terribly”. “Nothing was ever good enough. It was, ‘She doesn’t understand. She’s failing’,” the source said, adding that Ms Cohen was a “saint” and one of the best organisers of royal tours they had ever known.

In another incident included in Low’s book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, one source said the couple screamed at Ms Cohen before and during a trip from Tonga to Sydney. After that, Ms Cohen took to warning other staff to remain away from Prince Harry and Ms Markle that day.

“Sam always made clear that it was like working for a couple of teenagers. They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable,” the book reads.

At Rio, the chief of staff position does not have a high profile, sources said, but was seen as a development opportunity for high-achieving staff and future leaders.

Mr Stausholm has been in his position, as chief executive, since the start of 2021. He was previously the company’s chief financial officer, having earlier worked for Shell and international shipping group AP Moller-Maersk.

His appointment as CEO followed the departure of Jean-Sebastien Jacques, alongside the exit of the iron ore boss, Chris Salisbury, and corporate affairs chief Simone Niven after the company’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge, an Indigenous cultural site in the Pilbara.

Rio shares have risen 11.3 per cent in the last year, closing up 1 per cent on Wednesday at $119.42.

Ms Cohen is also the co-founder and deputy chair of a group established in May 2021 to increase and protect native tree cover in the UK as part of the commemoration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.