Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have fired their staff after closing their Buckingham Palace office.
The decision to close the office came last month after the decision to step back from the couple’s senior roles, according to a report published by the Daily Mail.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to close their Buckingham Palace office https://t.co/udhjBCACI5
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 14, 2020
“Given their decision to step back, an office at Buckingham Palace is no longer needed,” a source told the Mail. “While the details are still being finalized and efforts are being made to redeploy people within the royal household, unfortunately, there will be some redundancies [firings].”
Members of the staff that lost their jobs include Assistant Communications Secretary Julie Burley, long-time program coordinator Clara Loughran, communications chief Sara Latham and private secretary Fiona Mcilwham. (RELATED: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Confirm They Will ‘Step Back’ From Royal Roles)
“The Duke and Duchess have a small team, less than 15 people. The team are very loyal to the Sussexes and understand and respect the decision they have taken,” the source said. “They are all close and supporting each other. The team are busy helping to set their Royal Highnesses up for the future and working on a series of final engagements.”
Prince Harry and Markle first announced the decision to step back from their roles at the beginning of January.
“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,” the statement said at the time. “We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”