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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can’t seem to distance themselves from Prince William and Kate Middleton. The former senior royals recently made a surprising new hire amid their goal of repairing their image. However, there’s just one problem with their choice of Chief of Communications — she appears to be a huge fan of the future king and queen of England.
While Meghan, 43, is gearing up for the release of her new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, she and her husband, 40, decided to tap someone who could take charge of all their communications, and that person is Meredith Maines. Interestingly, royal watchers who quickly dug up some info about Maines found that she was once a supporter of William, 42, and Kate, 43. In particular, she was a big fan of their 2011 royal wedding.
Apparently, a day before the Prince and Princess of Wales’ big day, Maines took to X — then called Twitter — to express her excitement about binge-watching the royal wedding coverage, which ran for eight hours. After the ceremony, she admitted to enjoying the entire event, according to The Sun. Meanwhile, when Prince Harry and Markle had their star-studded royal wedding in 2018, Maines did not post anything, which might translate into her not being as enthusiastic about it as she was about the union of the other royal couple.
Despite her obvious support for Team Cambridge in the past, Maines is now firmly Team Sussex. The seasoned PR exec, who previously spent three years as Head of Communications at Hulu, is stepping into the high-profile role when the couple’s brand and reputation are under intense scrutiny. Notably, she also has ties to BetterUp, the Silicon Valley startup where Harry serves as Chief Impact Officer.
Maines most recently worked for Lightspeed Venture Partners and officially begins her new role on March 3. In a carefully worded statement, she gushed about her new job, saying: “I’m honored to partner with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to highlight the amazing work they are doing through Archewell, their broader business portfolio, and nonprofit work. I’m excited to help them tell their story as entrepreneurs, builders, and philanthropists while overseeing all communications for the couple and their ventures.”
Maines’ appointment is just the latest in a seemingly endless game of musical chairs within the Sussex camp. Since their 2018 wedding, a staggering 19 staffers have come and gone from their employ amid bullying and difficult behavior accusations against the former Suits actress.
Vanity Fair recently ran an 8,000-word story detailing the allegedly harrowing experiences their former staff suffered at the hands of Markle. In it, sources claimed some of the Sussexes’ workers either quit or needed long-term therapy after working with them.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Make Staff Change Ahead of New Show, Brand https://t.co/942iLJuhqq
— Jozaphen_ Imisioluwa,oluwasegun Sussex (@jozzzaphen) February 28, 2025
However, Maines’ predecessor, Ashley Hansen, who took over the role in 2022 but stepped down last October to launch her own firm, Three Gate Strategies, seemingly had a different experience. In an exit statement, Hansen did not forget to thank the Duke and Duchess for their “trust” and “unwavering support,” calling her time with them “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Markle, in turn, lavished praise on her departing staffer, saying, “We are so proud of Ashley, especially as a female entrepreneur. We look forward to having her focused expertise on our business and creative projects and her continued oversight of our communications team.”
Maines won’t be working alone for the U.S.-based royals. Shahed Fakhari Larson, founder of UNLMTD Partners, has also been brought on as a strategic communications advisor for the couple’s tech and business ventures, according to Axios. In their first week, the two will likely have to deal with all the controversies surrounding Markle’s rebranding of American Riviera Orchard and other issues about her and Prince Harry’s new ventures.