Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's 'revolving door' of staff suggests ‘something is wrong’: expert

Prince Harry’s chief of staff has left his job after three months, leaving many to wonder what’s happening inside the Sussex circle.

People magazine recently reported that Josh Kettler started his role a week before Harry and his wife Meghan Markle made their official visit to Nigeria in May. The outlet reported that Kettler was hired on a trial basis, and the decision to part ways was mutual, with "both sides agreeing it wasn’t the right fit."

"A revolving door of staff seems to be the norm for Harry and Meghan," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. "Eighteen members of their staff have departed their team."

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"Sometimes introducing new staff to a team can keep ideas alive, but this is an unusually high turnover of staff and highlights that something is wrong," said Chard.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

People magazine noted that Kettler’s departure comes less than two weeks after Francia Márquez, Colombia's vice president, announced that the couple will visit Colombia.

Kettler, who is based in Santa Barbara, California, was previously the chief of staff and head of strategic partnerships at Cognixion, a communication platform.

"The sad thing is all these employees have been chosen carefully," Chard explained. "They have previously excelled working for demanding bosses in high-performing companies and environments. I can only believe that Harry and Meghan are tricky customers and make it near impossible for their staff to excel in their roles."

"A revolving door of staff seems to be the norm for Harry and Meghan. Eighteen members of their staff have departed their team."

— Helena Chard, British broadcaster and photographer

"The Prince and Princess of Wales, and in fact, all the working royal family, seem to keep good relations, trust and communication with their staff," Chard pointed out. "They do not have a high turnover of staff. They steer a tight ship, and are very focused, workwise. This filters into their employees' support and work ethic. 

"Harry and Meghan seem like rudderless ships. They lack direction, jump on board many different ideas, think they are an authority on all these ideas, and then move on to something new."

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"Josh Kettler's departure after just three months stands in sharp contrast to most of the top palace-based royal staffers who stick around for years or even decades in one capacity or another," Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," told Fox News Digital.

"There is a whole infrastructure there, an established way of doing things," said Andersen. "But working for Harry and Meghan… is a whole different ballgame. The personalities involved are very strong. It may take a while for Harry and Meghan to find someone who is just the right fit for what is a very demanding job."

The U.S. Sun reported that out of 18 members of staff who have walked away from the Sussexes, nine of them have quit since the couple moved to California in 2020.

It appeared that key staff members were jumping ship before the couple made their royal exit. In his 2023 book "Courtiers," author Valentine Low claimed that many of the couple’s former palace staff coined the term "Sussex Survivors Club" to describe themselves after they quit working for the couple.

In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed she wasn't supported by palace staff after she married the British prince in 2018. Low claimed that many who worked for the duchess wanted to help but soon felt "even her most heartfelt pleas for help were part of a deliberate strategy" to leave royal life.

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A former staff member claimed to Low that Meghan wanted to drive the narrative that she was being "rejected" by the palace. Others claimed to Low that the mother of two wanted to leave the palace so she could return to the U.S. and earn money again.

There was a mutual dislike between two senior aides and Meghan and Harry, who the duchess saw as "bureaucratic," Low claimed. A source claimed Harry, 39, "used to send them horrible emails. So rude."

"The revolving door of Sussexes' employees was made public in December 2018 after The Sunday Times accused Meghan Markle of being a challenging employer," Kinsey Schofield, host of the "To Di For Daily" podcast, told Fox News Digital. "That is where we saw the birth of the ‘Duchess Difficult’ nickname."

"It did not help Meghan's cause when it was discovered that Meghan was accused of bullying two palace aides out of Kensington Palace," said Schofield. "These allegations were featured in private emails from [former employee] Jason Knauf that eventually led their way to Prince William's inbox... which caused an altercation between Prince William and Prince Harry, according to Harry's book, ‘Spare.’"

"High turnover for the Sussexes is a clear sign in my mind of ineffective leadership, lack of support, and poor communication," Schofield claimed. "According to Valentine Low’s initial bully investigation, Sussex employees struggle with work-life balance. Meghan was calling, texting, and emailing employees from sunup to sundown and wanted an immediate response. If Harry and Meghan expect excessive hours or place unrealistic demands on employees, it will likely lead to burnout and cause people to exit."

Samantha Cohen, who was a Buckingham Palace staffer for nearly 20 years, confirmed she was questioned during an investigation into claims of bullying made against the Duchess of Sussex. Cohen, who spoke to the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun earlier this year, left in 2019.

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While Cohen didn’t directly speak about the investigation, she revealed the palace was unable to find a replacement aide for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex due to high staff turnover.

"I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18. We couldn’t find a replacement for me, and when we did, we took them on tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to show them the ropes, but they left (quit) as well while in Africa," she said.

A representative for Meghan, 43, didn't respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment at the time.

Buckingham Palace launched the investigation in March 2021 after reports claimed that Meghan had driven out two personal assistants and that staff had been "humiliated" on several occasions during her time living in Kensington Palace.

The claims were published by The Times of London days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Winfrey for their televised interview.

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Meghan's lawyers denied the bullying allegations. At the time, a spokesperson for the duchess said the claims were just the "latest attack on her character."

"Good employers retain loyal staff," royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. "The royal family have historically loyal staff for many years and indeed generations… The royals appreciate and value their staff. By contrast, the Sussexes left the royal service and have lost 18 or so key personnel since they married in 2018. Nine or more have left since they moved to California in 2020."

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"Mr. Kettler's departure is purportedly unrelated to the upcoming Colombia trip," said Fordwich. "His exceedingly brief tenure is yet another indication that accomplished professionals aren’t loyal to Harry and Meghan. Far too many have departed for this to be viewed as anything other than a ghastly working environment."

In June 2023, Buckingham Palace announced it had investigated how the staff had handled allegations of bullying made against Meghan.

According to palace officials, the details of the independent review were not being released to protect the confidentiality of those who took part. Following the review, officials said the palace’s human resources policy had been updated, but the palace declined to say what the changes were.

Low previously claimed to Fox News Digital that one source said working with the Sussexes was "like working for a couple of teenagers."

"That’s what they were like," Low claimed. "They were kind of stubborn. They were difficult. They were uncontrollable and incredibly willful. You look at all the things that Meghan and Harry did – for instance, private jets."

"There was a time during the summer of 2019 when they took several jets in a short space of time," Low said. "And this was despite all the advice they were given. You know, ‘Don’t do that because you’ve been lecturing the world about saving the environment, and then you’re on a private jet.’ Which was so bad in terms of carbon emissions. But they wouldn’t listen to reason. And, of course, when the media found out about it, Harry got severely criticized. But they were just difficult to deal with."

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Another former palace insider alleged to Low that Meghan "thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the U.K." after marrying Harry.

"I think they felt she wanted the stardom, she wanted the adulation," said Low.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace previously told Fox News Digital they generally do not comment "on such books."

Fox News Digital's Christina Dugan Ramirez, Stephanie Giang-Paunon, Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.