Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's US Chief Of Staff Has A New Role. Here's What We Know
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's U.S. chief of staff has left her role for something new (via The Sun). Catherine St-Laurent served as "Chief of Staff to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex," as well as "Executive Director of [their non-profit], Archewell Foundation," according to her LinkedIn page. But now, she has a new job with the famous couple.
The change-up came after a very busy couple of weeks in the wake of Meghan and Harry's shocking tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on CBS on March 7, 2021. In the sit-down, Meghan and Harry got extremely candid about their life as working members of the senior royal family and why they stepped back. Meghan bravely opened up about her mental health while living in the palace, and the couple shook the royals after claiming that there was at least one discussion about the color of their son Archie's skin before his birth. The frank discussion resulted in Prince William having to deny his family was racist and created a media firestorm.
Keep reading for what we know about St-Laurent's new role — and who may replace her.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly bringing in a member of their UK team
In a statement via The Sun, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed that Catherine St-Laurent "has transitioned to a senior advisory role for Archewell," and "will continue to bring high-level strategic guidance to Archewell, which she helped launch and build over the course of the past year." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's U.K. representative James Holt may allegedly head to the U.S., potentially as a replacement for St-Laurent.
St-Laurent took on her initial role with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in April 2020. At the time of her hiring, Harry and Meghan said in a statement (per Page Six), "We are proud to be joined by Catherine St-Laurent in this next chapter with us. Her leadership and proven track record working within two organizations that have tremendous impact in the world — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures make her an incredible asset and we're excited to have her on our team."
The news of St-Laurent's new position came a few weeks after Meghan was accused of "bullying" staff during her time at Kensington Palace. The Times alleged the Suits actor "drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member." A rep for Harry and Meghan denied the claims, calling them "defamatory," stating, "Let's just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation," per Yahoo! News.