Pictured for the first time, this is the Duchess of Sussex’s closest aide, who has suddenly resigned from her job.
Meghan Markle’s personal assistant Melissa Touabti quit just six months after the Royal wedding at Windsor Castle in May.
The 39-year-old from France had previously worked for X Factor judges Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field, who she loved working for, according to friends.
‘Robbie Williams is a lively character, but she worked for him longer than she worked for Meghan,’ a friend told the Daily Mail.
Ms Touabti left her job at Kensington Palace just six months after the American actress married into the Royal Family.
Meghan Markle’s aide Melissa Touabti (right) quit just six months after the Royal wedding at Windsor Castle in May. She had also worked for Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda (pictured)
Ms Touabti had helped to organise the wedding earlier this year, above. But a short time after the big day she left her role at Kensington Palace
‘It’s a real shock,’ a source said. ‘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, the 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 her 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.
‘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.’
The 39-year-old from France had previously worked for X factor judges Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field
Ms Touabti had to deal with the traumatic build-up to the wedding, in which the Duchess’s father, Thomas Markle, gave a running commentary to journalists on the likelihood of his attending the ceremony. He 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.
Ms Touabti (pictured) had to deal with the traumatic build-up to the wedding
Other members of Meghan’s family complained publicly that they had not been invited.
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.’
‘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.
Ms Touabti resigned from her job at Kensington Palace just six months after Meghan, pictured above with Prince Harry, married into the Royal Family
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.
‘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.’ ‘