Why Prince Harry's chief of staff has quit after just three months

The decision was mutual, apparently

Prince Harry arrives for the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17, 2021 in Windsor, England. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born 10 June 1921, in Greece
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry's chief of staff has quit after just three months in the royal's office.

According to a report from The Guardian, Josh Kettler "was hired on a trial basis" in May, after which he came to London with the Duke of Sussex, when he was in the UK to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games.

That was right before Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's successful trip to Nigeria, and Josh has now left the Sussex staff ahead of the couple's next international visit. The Duke and Duchess are set to travel to Colombia, where they will visit Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali, according to People.

Apparently, the job trial wasn't successful and both Josh and Harry agreed that "it was not the correct fit."

The Guardian notes that Harry, Meghan, and their company Archewell have lost many senior staffers over the last few years, including manager of Archewell Production Bennett Levine, Fara Taylor from the marketing team, head of content Ben Browning, head of audio Rebecca Sananes, and president Mandana Dayani.

Marie Claire previously reported that the Sussexes' top PR Toya Holness left in May 2022, following the previous departure of Archewell director Catherine St Laurent.

As for what's next for the Sussex couple, they'll be in Colombia for four days, and will meet with Francia Márquez, the country's vice-president and a human rights and environmental activist as well as a lawyer — among several other planned meetings and activities for their time in the Latin American country.

There are whisperings that the rest of the Royal Family aren't too pleased about Harry and Meghan's international ventures.

"I think when you have former senior working members of the Royal Family do what the Royal Family would like to do, I do think will create difficulties," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams recently told The Sun while commenting on the Colombian trip.

Let's see how it all unfolds!

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.