For the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the timing could not be much worse. Josh Kettler, their chief of staff, has left the job after just three months in the role and only days before the couple embark on a high-profile quasi-royal tour of Colombia. According to People magazine, known to be sympathetic to the Sussexes, Kettler had been “hired on a trial basis” and “the decision to part ways was mutual, with both sides agreeing it wasn’t the right fit”.
This week Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 43, will be the official guests of Colombia. Its vice-president, Francia Marquez, said she hoped the Sussexes’ visit would “further illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation”.
The red carpet will be rolled out by a government that has had its fair share of controversy. On Friday the president, Gustavo Petro, accused a rebel group commander of planning to have him assassinated, while Marquez has herself been criticized for commuting by helicopter to her private residence. Meanwhile, broader issues of security continue to blight the country, with Britain’s representative at the United Nations remaining “concerned about persistent levels of violence and threats” in some areas.
So, did Harry’s chief of staff express doubts about the visit? And, if so, did he jump or was he pushed?
Ordinarily, a staff departure might not be of interest, except that Kettler is the ninth employee to have left the Sussexes’ employ in the past three years, or the 18th if you include their time at the Palace.
What is going on? Watertight non-disclosure agreements may mean the more recent cases remain a secret. Yet details of the Sussexes’ time at the Palace paint a picture of a robust work ethic that didn’t suit everyone.
In October 2018 Jason Knauf, who was the couple’s communications secretary, wrote an email to Simon Case, then Prince William’s private secretary, saying: “I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X was totally unacceptable.” He added: “The duchess seems intent on having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.”
“You could not escape them,” a source tells Valentine Low in his book Courtiers. “There were no lines or boundaries — it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.”
The source, who is unnamed, adds: “Every ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this. You’ve let me down. What were you thinking?’ It went on for a couple of hours.”
The duchess denied bullying and her lawyers stated that one individual left after findings of misconduct. Nevertheless, tales of exasperation and energetic disagreements — or “sticky moments” as one source puts it — have followed the couple across the Atlantic.
JR Moehringer, the ghost writer of Harry’s autobiography, Spare, wrote in The New Yorker magazine that he felt “exasperated with Prince Harry” during the book’s editing process. When “reviewing his latest edits in a middle-of-the-night Zoom session” Harry was “insisting” that Moehringer reinstate a line that had previously been cut from the prose. In the end, Moehringer won the point but said he feared he would get a call from “Harry’s agent” the next morning booting him off the project.
Tales of exasperation and energetic disagreements — or “sticky moments” as one source puts it — have followed the couple across the Atlantic.
It wasn’t the first case of artistic differences. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker Garrett Bradley, who was brought in to mastermind the couple’s six-part Netflix docuseries, left the project before completion. Liz Garbus, another Oscar nominee, was hired in his place. A source at the time told Page Six: “Garrett wanted Harry and Meghan to film at home and they were not comfortable doing that. There were a few sticky moments between them and Garrett left the project.”
Similarly, when the couple’s $20 million deal with Spotify started to crumble, aides began to leave. Rebecca Sananes, head of audio at Archewell Audio, stepped down after 18 months.
In 2023 the Sussexes appeared to lose a string of senior aides, such as Ben Browning, internal content head of Archewell Productions. In early 2024 it emerged that Bennett Levine would be the next to exit Archewell Productions amid rumors that the lucrative television deal with Netflix was in doubt.
It’s all the more bewildering that the staffers who leave have impressive CVs, were educated at prestigious universities and have experience at the best brands. Kettler spent more than six years at the outdoor brand Patagonia, while Catherine St-Laurent, another former chief of staff who lasted less than a year, had worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the Palace, Melissa Toubati, a former PA to the Sussexes, had previously worked for the singer Robbie Williams and his wife, Ayda Field.
Other woes for the Sussexes point to problems beyond a mere staffing crisis. Meghan sought a trademark for American Riviera Orchard, a lifestyle brand selling homewares. She has already sent jars of jam and dog biscuits to friends under the label. However, the US Patents and Trademarks Office has notified the Sussexes’ lawyers of various issues, including incorrect classification of yoga blankets, picnic baskets and recipe books. A Netflix television series linked to the lifestyle brand has reportedly been filmed, although the release date is yet to be announced.
The Sussexes will no doubt be hoping that a trip to Colombia will once again establish them on the world stage. Meghan speaks fluent Spanish and the couple will surely hope to replicate the success of their previous tour to Nigeria. They have been invited by the government and images of their various engagements will be beamed around the world.
But troubling questions remain.
That their top aide could either be sacked or allowed to walk out so soon before a controversial foreign trip might be seen as unfortunate. That he is just one of many to have left so soon into his tenure is simply baffling.
Kate Mansey is assistant editor at The Times of London
