Harry and Meghan in ‘full control’ as staff leave in run-up to Netflix release

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have lost another senior aide in the run-up to the imminent release of their Netflix series which denounces the palace for playing a “dirty game”.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have lost another senior aide in the run-up to the imminent release of their Netflix series which denounces the palace for playing a “dirty game”.

Rebecca Sananes, who was appointed head of audio at Archewell in July 2021, has quit the role after just 18 months, following the success of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, for which she was executive producer.

It comes 24 hours after Mandana Dayani, who ran Archewell for less than 18 months, stepped down from her role as president by mutual agreement.

The Duke and Duchess have announced they will now take “full lead” of their company in a statement released by their spokesman.

Ms Sananes has now changed her Twitter profile to erase reference to her role at Archewell.

Meanwhile, Serena Regan has been hired to replace Ms Sananes as head of audio, according to the Daily Telegraph UK.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a scene from Harry & Meghan. Picture: Netflix

The departures are bad timing for the Sussexes, as they prepare for the highly anticipated release of their documentary about life at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, as well as the publication of the Duke’s memoir, Spare, on January 10.

The couple are in the public eye again today as they prepare to claim the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award for having the “moral courage” to challenge the Royal Family’s “power structure,” at a ceremony in New York for which guests who want to sit at the main table with the royals pay $A1.52m (£840,000)

The two staff departures are the latest in a litany of senior women previously employed by the couple who have left after a relatively swift stint of employment.

Catherine St Laurent joined Archewell as director in April 2020 but left after just a year.

Global secretary Toya Holness joined in October 2020 but left in May this year.

An Archewell spokesman said Ms Dayani was hired to guide the company during the Sussexes’ parental leave and had always planned to leave and they remain friends.

The highly edited Netflix trailer, which alleges racism and hatred portrays the Duke and Duchess as victims of conspiracy, show the prince accusing the institution of “leaking” and “planting” stories, and denouncing the family for playing what he calls “a dirty game”.

A pregnant Meghan Markle in Harry & Meghan. Picture: Netflix

And at the centre of his attack is his mother, Princess Diana, surrounded by the paparazzi who Harry references claiming what happened to his mother is a mirror treatment of what his wife experienced.

“’I was terrified,” he says, adding, “I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”

The two clips of film included of the late princess in the trailer were taken after she had voluntarily given up her police bodyguards.

From the moment Megahn became engaged to Harry in 2017 to the couple’s departure for America two and a half years later, Meghan was always under the protection of Scotland Yard police.

The series is expected to be an unabated attack on the Royal Family and is likely to deepen the rift with Prince William, who is said to be furious his brother should milk the death of their mother to boost sales for Netflix.

At one stage Meghan’s lawyer, Jenny Afia, appears in the latest trailer to claim: “There was a war against Meghan to suit other people’s agendas.”

Originally published as Harry and Meghan in ‘full control’ as staff leave in run-up to Netflix release