Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have hired a very high profile person to join their team

Here’s everything to know…

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Here’s everything to know…

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a very busy year, from welcoming their newborn son Archie Harrison to moving into their newly renovated Frogmore Cottage home.

But it was staffing matters that made the most noise around the Sussex family this past year, with the royal couple reported to have lost multiple employees - something that has only fuelled rumours that the couple has become difficult to work with.

In November last year, Meghan Markle’s personal assistant Melissa Touabti resigned from her post after six months in the job, with the couple’s private secretary Samantha Cohen following suit just weeks later, after having worked for the royal family for 17 years. Meghan Markle’s female bodyguard then quit her role in January after just six months.

Today however, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had positive staff news to share as they have reportedly officially hired their new private secretary - and she’s pretty high profile.

Fiona Mcilwham is set to join the royal household next month in the role, heading up the Sussex family team, but who is she?

According to The Mail on Sunday, the 45-year-old who on Twitter refers to herself as a ‘diplomat and wannabe supermum’ is a former top-level diplomat, becoming one of the UK’s youngest ambassadors in 2009 when she was posted to Albania.

Fiona is set to start next week and one of her key jobs is supposed to be joining the Sussex family on their tour of South Africa, Angola, Botswana and Malawi.

Good luck to Fiona with her dream job!

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.