Why Did Prince Harry’s Chief of Staff Really Quit So Fast?

The abrupt departure of Prince Harry’s Chief of Staff, Josh Kettler, has once again shone an unwelcome light on what many former employees have complained is an aggressive and uncompromising management style at Sussex Towers.

Reports this week, in the wake of Kettler’s departure, have claimed that 18 people have resigned or left Harry and Meghan Markle’s employ since she married Harry, with nine leaving since they moved to the USA.

However, defenders of Harry and Meghan would be quick to point out that some staff, such as James Holt, who moved to America with the Sussexes, have remained in post for many years, and point out that there is plenty of churn in Prince William and Princess Kate’s office too, but they don’t get accused of being bad bosses every time a new hire doesn’t work out.

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Harry and Meghan’s office said they were not going to comment on the matter. However, The Daily Beast understands that Kettler’s role was specific to Harry and that a decision to part company was taken mutually following a three month trial.

Part of the problem for the Sussexes is undoubtedly the propensity of the press to jump on every departure and declare it a symptom of wider malaise. Yet the fact remains that the Sussexes do appear to struggle to keep staff, and high profile hires, such as Ben Browning (former internal content head of Archewell Productions) Bennett Levine (another former producer at Archewell Productions), Catherine St-Laurent (a former chief of staff who previously worked for Bill and Melinda Gates) have made for high profile departures.

Kettler is just the latest to be added to the list.

The complaints that The Daily Beast has heard, more specifically against Meghan than Harry, go back as far as the planning of Harry and Meghan’s wedding.

For example, one photographer who was requested to pitch to work for their wedding told The Daily Beast: “It was incredibly exciting to be asked to present for the wedding. I had to go to Kensington Palace where I laid out several mood boards in what was then their office. Eventually, Meghan walked in, took one look at what I had prepared and said, in the meanest way possible, ‘No.’ Then she spun on her heel and walked out. I was left in tears. It was horrible.”

Another contractor, a florist, The Daily Beast was told, was “monstered” by Meghan after posting an innocuous message on social media trying to source flowers for a bouquet Meghan had requested they make. The florist vowed never to work with Meghan again despite the prestige associated with such a client.

Harry, by contrast, has generally been seen as a considerate and thoughtful boss. Another contractor who worked at his wedding told The Daily Beast how Harry helped set up one of the bars in a marquee before the event kicked off. Harry’s good reputation has meant the departure of Kettler, who reported to Harry not Meghan, after just three months, has come as a particular shock.

Kettler’s departure will reinforce a narrative that Harry and Meghan are difficult to work for. Previous employees of the couple in the U.K. were said to have banded together in a group they half-jokingly called the “Sussex Survivors Club.”

The Daily Beast knows of one former military man who worked happily in a close and personal capacity for Harry for several years, but left when his role changed and he also had to serve Meghan, telling close friends that Meghan was the reason for his departure.

Informal accounts such as these are ten a penny, but what really blew the issue of Meghan’s treatment of her staff into the public sphere was the leaking of a complaint against Meghan to the London Times reporter, Valentine Low.

The complaint was extraordinary for many reasons, but principally because its author was Meghan and Harry’s then-communications secretary, Jason Knauf.

In October 2018 he wrote an email to Simon Case, then Prince William’s private secretary, saying: “I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X was totally unacceptable.” He added: “The duchess seems intent on having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.”

The duchess denied bullying and accused the Times of perpetrating a smear on her. The revelations were published in the Times just days before Meghan’s much-anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey was transmitted.

Low went further in his book, Courtiers citing an unnamed former staffer as saying: “You could not escape them. There were no lines or boundaries—it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.”

The source added: “Every ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this. You’ve let me down. What were you thinking?’ It went on for a couple of hours.”

Buckingham Palace subsequently ordered a report on bullying in the palace—but its findings remain unknown as it was never published.