When the Diary disclosed earlier this month that the Duchess of Sussex’s closest aide had quit suddenly, no one was more surprised than friends of the pop star Robbie Williams.
For I can reveal that Meghan Markle’s personal assistant previously worked happily for the former Take That star.
Her name, which was previously given only as ‘Melissa’, is Melissa Touabti, a 39-year-old French woman.
![When the Duchess of Sussex's closest aide had quit suddenly, no one was more surprised than friends of the pop star Robbie Williams, pictured above with Ayda Field at the wedding of Princess Eugenie. Meghan Markle's personal assistant previously worked happily for the star [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/26/22/6674288-6431449-image-m-25_1543272415575.jpg)
When the Duchess of Sussex’s closest aide had quit suddenly, no one was more surprised than friends of the pop star Robbie Williams, pictured above with Ayda Field at the wedding of Princess Eugenie. Meghan Markle’s personal assistant previously worked happily for the star [File photo]
‘Robbie Williams is a lively character, but she worked for him longer than she worked for Meghan,’ a pal tells me.
Melissa resigned from her job at Kensington Palace just six months after the American actress married into the Royal Family.
‘It’s a real shock,’ a source said at the time. ‘Why would she want to leave such a prestigious job so soon?’
It’s not known if Williams provided a reference for Melissa, but the singer and his wife, fellow X Factor judge Ayda Field, enjoy close links to the Royal Family.
Their six-year-old daughter, Theodora, was one of Princess Eugenie’s bridesmaids at her wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, last month.
The couple had become good friends with Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank after being introduced in 2011 by the Princess’s mother, Sarah, Duchess of York.
After Meghan’s PA quit, a Palace source was authorised to pay tribute to her and the role she played in helping organise Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
The personal assistant had helped to organise the wedding earlier this year, above. A Palace source was authorised to pay tribute to her and the role she played in helping organise Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding
‘Melissa is a hugely talented person,’ the source said. ‘She played a pivotal role in the success of the Royal Wedding and will be missed by everyone in the Royal Household.’
Royal biographer Robert Jobson claimed in his book Charles At Seventy, which was serialised in this newspaper, that Meghan’s wedding preparations were so stressful that Harry became ‘petulant and short-tempered’ with members of staff.
He wrote: ‘Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: ‘What Meghan wants, she gets.’ ‘
Melissa resigned from her job at Kensington Palace just six months after Meghan, pictured above with Prince Harry, married into the Royal Family. Biographer Robert Johnson wrote of the couple: ‘Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: ‘What Meghan wants, she gets’