The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry have lost three major palace aides since the Duchess joined the Royal Family just six months ago.
Richard Eden of the Daily Mail confirmed yesterday the news of the latest aide to quit.
A source from Kensington Palace said: ‘It’s a real shock, why would she want to leave such a prestigious job so soon?’
Meghan’s personal assistant has quit suddenly, just six months after the American actress married into the Royal Family
She will soon be joined by the royal couple’s private secretary Samantha Cohen, who follows predecessor Edward Lane Fox out of the door.
A Kensington Palace spokesman declined to comment on the departure of the PA, whose name is given only as Melissa. However, a Palace source was authorised to pay tribute to her.
‘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.’
Prince Harry and his Private Secretary Edward Lane Fox attend the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on September 10, 2014
A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment on the departure of the PA, whose name is given only as Melissa. However, in a highly unusual move, a Palace source has been authorised to pay tribute to her
One Palace aide said: ‘To lose one member of the household could happen to anyone. To lose three in a few months is starting to look like a stampede.’
Melissa had to deal with the traumatic build-up to Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding in May, in which the Duchess’s father, Thomas Markle, gave a running commentary to journalists on the likelihood of his attending the ceremony.
The 74-year-old decided not to come just five days before the wedding, leaving Harry to ask Prince Charles to step in to the breach and walk Meghan up the aisle.
Other members of Meghan’s family complained publicly that they had not been invited.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson claims in his new 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.
Samantha Cohen pictured in 2001 at Buckingham Palace
He writes: ‘Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: ‘What Meghan wants, she gets.’ ‘
Meghan’s former agent, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, described her before the wedding as unique in her determination to succeed.
She said Meghan was ruthless with her time, her attention and her priorities. She was ‘picky’, not only when it came to her clothes but also her colleagues, instantly dismissing those who didn’t share her ‘vision’.
‘Meghan,’ said her former agent, ‘likes to move on’.