Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially closed their Buckingham Palace Office and fired 15 staff who worked for them.
According to Daily Mail, this is the “surest sign yet” that Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Harrison will ever live in the UK again.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly broke the news to their employees last month, following their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family.
One or two staff members might be assigned to other jobs in the royal household. But it appears that the majority of them are “negotiating redundancy packages.”
It is reportedly understood that senior royals such as the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William are aware of the office closure and lay-offs. However, Buckingham Palace does not speak on staffing matters .
“Given their decision to step back, an office at Buckingham Palace is no longer needed,” a source told The Mail. “While the details are still being finalized and efforts are being made to redeploy people within the royal household, unfortunately, there will be some redundancies [firings].”
Fired staffers include communications chief Sara Latham and newly appointed private secretary Fiona Mcilwham. Clara Loughran, Prince Harry’s program coordinator who handed Meghan her bouquet on her wedding day also got the boot.
“The Duke and Duchess have a small team, less than 15 people. The team are very loyal to the Sussexes and understand and respect the decision they have taken,” the source said. “They are all close and supporting each other. The team are busy helping to set their Royal Highnesses up for the future. They are also working on a series of final engagements.”
Earlier this month, the couple were keynote speakers at a swanky JPMorgan summit on South Beach in Miami.