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If you believe the British tabloids, then you may believe that Meghan Markle is a tough person to work for, from her rising at 5 a.m. to making clear what she believes her role should encompass.
At The Daily Beast we have heard our share of aggrieved servants’ tales (one source told us that a floral arrangement presented for her consideration ahead of the wedding was rejected with one word, “No,” and a spin on the heel) and indeed the alleged casualties of Whirlwind Meghan have been multiple; personal assistant Melissa Touabti, who previously worked for Robbie Williams, quit after six months in the job with rumors circulating that Meghan’s behavior had on occasion left her in tears.
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Amy Pickerill, who helped plan the wedding, also quit.
Edward Lane Fox, Harry’s longtime private secretary, handed in his cards last year, and his successor, Samantha “the Panther” Cohen, who arrived on a temporary basis, after leaving the queen’s office, will not be staying on as many had hoped.
Even Meghan’s female close protection officer announced she was quitting just before Christmas, forcing yet another shuffle of the deck.
The rash of departures have led to a curious situation in which Harry and Meghan now effectively have no paid dedicated staff members, unlike William and Kate, who have multiple secretaries and assistants, although the head of the KP press operation, Canadian Jason Knauf, is a key Harry and Meghan ally. It was he who penned the angry letter condemning racist intrusion into Harry and Meghan’s life in the early days of the relationship.
Harry is said to trust Knauf implicitly, and his North American heritage has made him a natural confidant of Meghan.
However, Meghan, who arrived in the U.K. knowing almost nobody other than her fiancé and his, ahem, slightly unusual family, has worked hard over the past year to develop a close network of friend advisers, from the worlds of fashion, theater, design, and style.
In the long run, these people may prove more useful in establishing and maintaining a distinct identity than a chain of salaried palace flunkies and a revolving door.
She has rejected the notion of ladies- (or gentlemen-) in-waiting and court jesters, in favor, apparently, of cultivating a wider circle of informal influencers.
On Thursday, for example, Meghan, wearing a pink dress and cradling her baby bump, had a formal engagement at the National Theatre. If she looked pally with the organization’s director, Rufus Norris, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. She secretly met him in December, ahead of the announcement that she would become a patron of the NT.
Because of her background on screen and stage, Meghan clearly hopes to make an impact in the U.K. arts scene. Having Norris on speed dial will help her navigate the famously bitchy and incestuous world of British theater.
Norris was effusive about his new patron yesterday. Describing Meghan as “dynamic,” he said “this relationship makes absolute sense for us and for her.”
He also referred to Meghan’s belief in the social value of theater. After gaining a double major in theater and international relations from Northwestern University, in Illinois, she volunteered at an after-school acting program for children in underprivileged sections of Los Angeles.
Norris told the Daily Mail she was “very passionate” about “the education work we do, the participatory work and the nationwide work we do. She is passionate about the impact that the arts can have, such as community building.”
Another key member of Team Meghan is the interior designer Vicky Charles, who has been entrusted with the task of redesigning Meghan and Harry’s new home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Formerly the head designer at one of Meghan and Harry’s favorite places, Soho House, she left the company in 2016 to found her own studio, Charles & Co., with Julia Corden, the wife of TV host James Corden.
James and Julia Corden are also close friends of Meghan. They were both guests at their wedding, and Corden compered the afterparty, dressed up in a King Henry VIII outfit.
Other Soho House-derived mates include the club’s founder Nick Jones and his wife, Kirsty Young, and Canadian Markus Anderson, a director of the brand (in charge of membership, so, a good guy to know) who met Meghan while she was living in Toronto.
One problem for Meghan is that her friends tend to be much more international jet set than William’s and Kate’s, and at times this can leave her isolated. Anyone in a similar situation knows how difficult it can be even to find a mutually convenient time to talk on the phone across radically different time zones. The same problem applies with her old pal, super stylist Jessica Mulroney, whose kids were bridesmaids and who remains a close confidante.
So it is perhaps unsurprising that some of Meghan’s most important unofficial team members work in an industry in which London is still an important hub: fashion.
Claire Waight Keller of Givenchy, who designed her wedding dress, is a key ally, as are senior figures in the British Fashion Council, where Meghan presented an award to Keller before Christmas.
Meghan, perhaps shrewdly spotting a gap that Boden-loving Kate Middleton left empty, has made a point of befriending and bringing onside Britain’s most powerful and high-end designers. She referred to the crowd as full of “familiar faces” in her speech at the fashion awards.
Another important local supporter and cheerleader is Victoria Beckham; her husband David has acted as a mentor of kinds to Harry, and they live near Soho Farm House in Oxfordshire, where Meghan and Harry still have a country home, although they are giving it up soon.
Just this week, Beckham told American TV that Meghan was “a beautiful, strong and wonderful woman” and described having her wear her clothes as “a huge honor!”
Reassuringly, however, Meghan still has time for old friends on her team, such as Canadian makeup artist Daniel Martin, who masterminded Meghan’s wedding day look, and has been a close friend since her pre-royal days as an actress.
Martin visited Meghan in London in January, sharing a snap of avocado toast she had prepared for him.
Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson both found marrying into the House of Windsor a lonely and isolating experience.
It is good to see Meghan taking determined steps to make sure the fate of royal isolation does not befall her, as it has so many of her forebears.
