Prince Harry’s cutting of ties to royal family and now aides is huge ‘power shift’ towards Meghan Markle
PRINCE Harry axing his UK aides and cutting ties to the Royal Family is a huge “power shift” towards Meghan Markle, courtiers fear.
Last night it emerged the Sussexes sacked their “very loyal” staff, after announcing they were quitting their senior posts.
Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, closed their Buckingham Palace office, sending a message they may never live in England again.
The Daily Mail reports: “Courtiers believe they do not just signal an ending of the Sussexes’ links to Britain, but also a ‘power shift’ towards Meghan.
“In a little over a month Harry has lost a terrifying amount. He has broken with his family, his friends and his way of life.
“He will never again wear the military uniform he so treasured.
“By parting company with his dedicated London secretariat he is now effectively severing his royal connections, too.”
It is thought that while some may find work in the royal household, the bulk will now be negotiating redundancy packages.
Senior members of the royal family, including the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William were said to be aware of the office closure and redundancies.
The couple fled with baby Archie to Canada last month, where they are currently holed up in an £11million mansion on Vancouver Island.
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Among those reportedly axed were communications chief Sara Latham – who previously worked for the Obamas, and newly appointed private secretary Fiona Mcilwham.
Assistant communications secretary Marnie Gaffney is also understood to be leaving, as is Julie Burley, who worked for Harry, William and Kate on their Heads Together mental health campaign.
Harry’s programme co-ordinator Clara Loughran, who was asked to hand Meghan her bouquet on her wedding day, will also lose her position, it’s reported.
And social media expert David Watkins — who was poached from Burberry in August — will go too.
A source said the close-knit team were rocked by the news and described them as loyal “to a fault”.
The insider added: “They are all good people, very loyal and brilliant at their jobs, and everyone feels incredibly sorry for them.”
Meghan’s new squad, hired in the US, is alleged to have made life difficult for the royal staff after hiring a designer to make a new website without any involvement from them.
Harry will continue to have a small privately-employed team in London to help with his new green travel project, Travalyst.
The UK redundancies could be wrapped up by the time he and Meghan finish their transition from Royal life in mid to late March.
In January Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they wanted to step down as senior royals.
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The pair posted on Instagram their plans to split their time between Britain and North America – with Canada as their second home.
The couple said they will be “financially independent” as they “carve out a progressive new role”, but will still support the Queen.
The Duke, 35, and Duchess, 38, said in their surprise statement: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.”
