After only three months on the job, Prince Harry's former chief of staff has spoken out about his time working with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Josh Kettler's abrupt departure from his position as public relations expert purportedly hired to "guide him [Harry] through his next phase" aroused eyebrows.
Just before Prince Harry and Meghan's public tour to Colombia, word got out that he was stepping down. An unnamed source said that Meghan "belittles people" and "doesn't take advice," and his departure coincided with what seemed like a high staff turnover for the Sussexes' new US-based companies.
The former chief of staff and head of strategic partnerships at communication platform Cognixion, Josh, opened up about his time working for Prince Harry and Meghan to Us Weekly. He described being "warmly welcomed" by the couple and their Archewell team, among other things.
"They are dedicated and hardworking. It was impressive to witness," he added. His comments come as a string of former and current employees spoke out in defense of Meghan after The Hollywood Reporter labeled her "Duchess Difficult.”
Reports from former Archewell Productions head of content Ben Browning, who departed before his contract ended, and current Global Press Secretary Ashley Hansen corroborated this, saying that the Sussexes "couldn't be more supportive" of the company's ethos.
During her time in the hospital after surgery, she spoke about how the Duke and Duchess treated her with "the kind of concern and care a parent would express if it were their own child," going so far as to give her flowers and presents to help her heal.
In a separate interview with Us Weekly, Mandana Dayani, the former president of Archewell, shared the following: "Part of the profound injustice of having to speak publicly on this in light of these endless and damaging narratives is that so much of the kindness, mentorship, and support that Prince Harry and Meghan share with others happens quietly behind closed doors."
In addition, she talks about how she and Meghan breastfed Princess Lilibet at the same time while the Duchess made cold calls to senators, pleading with them to support paid parental leave.
Netizens were quick to react to the “Duchess Difficult” allegations to Meghan. “She is purely a lunatic! Nothing else of value!” one X, formerly a Twitter user, penned. "Keep exposing them/her. She gaslit us all. God Save The King,” the second netizen wrote on the platform.
“The world now knows she's a total fraud #MeghanMarkleIsABully,” a third X user said. “Harry and Meghan are mean — if they treat their friends, families (and dogs) this badly — is it a surprise that they belittle their staff and then lie — saying it was made up? At some point — there’s too much truth spilling over the rim of the pot. #HarryandMeghanHollywoodLosers,” another stated.
Business Times has reached out to Meghan Markle for comments.
