Buckingham Palace has released a statement on behalf of the Queen in response to Harry and Meghan's scandalous interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's chief of staff has stepped down after less than a year in the role.
Catherine St-Laurent, who previously held senior roles at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, started working for Harry and Meghan in April 2020. As well as acting as the couple's chief of staff, she was also the executive director of their non-profit organisation, Archewell Foundation.
A spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed that the Montreal-born mother-of-two will transition to an "advisory" role and be replaced by James Holt, the couple's UK spokesman.
It comes after Harry and Meghan appointed Ben Browning as Archewell's head of content to "work closely with Netflix and Spotify", with whom the couple signed multi-million dollar deals last year.
It means the two most powerful people in the Sussexes' top team are now both white males, despite the couple having voiced their concerns about a lack of diversity in the Royal family. A statement issued on behalf of Archewell made clear that it would also be advised by Invisible Hand, "a female-led, diverse team" based in New York and run by Genevieve Roth.
Toya Holness, the global press secretary for Archewell, said: "Archewell is incredibly pleased to welcome Ben, Genevieve and the Invisible Hand team to the organisation.
"Along with the appointment of James Holt as executive director of Archewell Foundation, they join a rapidly expanding team that's deeply dedicated to advancing systemic cultural change and supporting compassionate communities across the world."
Catherine St-Laurent had previously worked for Bill and Melinda Gates.
Announcing St-Laurent's appointment 11 months ago, the Sussexes said: "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 organisations that have tremendous impact in the world – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures – makes her an incredible asset, and we're excited to have her on our team."
A source told the Telegraph: "Catherine was a great hire for Harry and Meghan. She is a Canadian who has worked for Bill and Melinda Gates. She's very bubbly and a big personality. She was the bright hope to run their organisation, so this is surprising news. They do not have a big team out in LA, so this is going to be a blow."
It is thought St-Laurent will also be launching her own social impact firm, which will work closely with Archewell.
While in the UK, the couple lost a string of employees, including Meghan's personal assistant, Melissa Toubati, their senior communications officer, Amy Pickerill, and Samantha Cohen, their private secretary.
Last month, it was reported that complaints of alleged bullying within Harry and Meghan's former office at Kensington Palace had been made to Buckingham Palace, although none of the complainants were named.
The palace's human resources department is now looking into the allegations, which the Sussexes have vehemently denied and described as a "calculated smear campaign" to deflect from their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
