Meghan Markle’s group shake-up raises considerations about Hollywood model | USAEMALL.com

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have experienced another shake-up within their team.

Emily Robinson, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s director of communications, has stepped down just four months after assuming the role, People magazine reported. 

“Ms. Robinson oversaw project-based work for a very successful season of ‘With Love, Meghan’ and additional support for the production company,” a spokesperson from Archewell, which handles the offices for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, told Fox News Digital. “She did an excellent job and completed these projects with great success.”

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Meghan Markle is seen here attending the Balenciaga Womenswear Spring/Summer 2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 4, 2025. On Oct. 24th, it was reported that Emily Robinson, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s director of communications, was leaving four months after she took on the role. (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga)

Robinson could not immediately be reached for comment.

The sudden departure has reignited scrutiny of the Sussexes’ business empire in Hollywood, especially as Meghan, 44, attempts to brand herself as an entrepreneur.

“This most recent departure simply adds to the ongoing instability and brand confusion within the couple’s discombobulated operations,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.

“It’s a clear indication that Meghan Markle’s ambition to reshape her public image with a polished team is failing,” Fordwich claimed. “The optics are ghastly as it really enforces the negative image of chaotic brand control, at best, as well as Meghan’s dwindling influence.”

The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan” premiered March 4, 2025, on Netflix. (Jake Rosenberg/Netflix © 2025)

Before joining the couple’s team in late May, Robinson worked as a senior director of publicity for Netflix, People reported. Robinson is one of several staffers who have exited the Sussexes’ team in recent years, raising eyebrows.

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A source told the outlet that Robinson “left of her own accord.”

Meghan Markle arrives at the Paley Honors Fall Gala on Dec. 4, 2024, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Despite the pleasant send-off, Fordwich noted that it’s uncommon for a communications director to leave such a high-profile position after less than a year.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Project Healthy Minds 3rd Annual Gala at Spring Studios on Oct. 9, 2025, in New York City (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

“Communications directors simply don’t leave such a high-profile, global PR role after merely a few months,” she said. “Such departures are rare and imply either chronic personal incompatibility or some sort of strategic disagreement regarding strategy or image development.”

Robinson is in growing company.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito. (Dan Charity – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

In June, four members of the couple’s staff left, including their Los Angeles-based deputy press secretary, Kyle Boulia, and their U.K. press officer, Charlie Gipson. Both were brought on last year. At the time, Fox News Digital reached out to Archewell for comment.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California. (Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told Fox News Digital that about 20 people have left their roles working for the Sussexes. The couple stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California.

“There is growing evidence to support the rumors that Meghan Markle struggles to follow the direction of her advisors,” royal expert Kinsey Schofield of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered” told Fox News Digital.

Meghan Markle is seen during Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 5, 2025. (Andrea Cremascoli/Getty Images)

“Former staff tell me that she appears receptive to advice, acts as if she will execute it in the way that it has been presented, and then does the complete opposite,” Schofield claims. “Meghan blames the media and public for misinterpreting or misunderstanding her. It’s an exhausting cycle, and for many who have worked with her, ultimately an unsustainable one.”

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their royal exit, they cited the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media, as well as a lack of support from the palace, as their reasons for stepping back. (Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital that the latest turnover only raises more scrutiny for the couple.

“It’s unclear how much it could really damage the brand,” he said. “What they’ve lacked is continuity — whether it’s staff, message discipline or creative focus. It’s difficult to build a solid, stable foundation when you have a turnstile of employees leaving your ‘building’ throughout the process. Stability requires continuity.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2025, in New York City. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)

Royal commentator Amanda Matta pointed out to Fox News Digital that departures like Robinson’s aren’t “unusual” in entertainment, especially as projects evolve quickly and roles are contract-based.

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In 2025, Meghan Markle launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and her Netflix lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan.” (Heathcliff O’Malley – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

“Because it’s Meghan and Harry, every departure gets treated as part of a pattern,” Matta explained. “In reality, the Sussexes have only been operating independently for five years and are still refining what their long-term ventures look like.”

“As their work shifts from start-up energy to more focused, sustainable projects, some turnover is inevitable,” Matta shared. “It doesn’t necessarily signal dysfunction, just a natural realignment as they build a team that fits their next chapter. If anything, the professional tone of the statement from their spokesperson underscores that this was a planned and positive transition, not a crisis.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen here attending the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 at Merkur Spiel-Arena on Sept. 16, 2023 in Duesseldorf, Germany. On Oct. 9, 2025, they received the “Humanitarians of the Year” award. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

“It’s unusual, but not impossible,” said Eldridge. “The role that Emily Robinson left Netflix to take on with Harry and Meghan was described as project-specific and had to do with delineated creative vehicles, the likes of which were purportedly completed. However, if that’s the case, there is really no reason for a resignation or termination; it is merely the completion of the contracted term.”

Meghan Markle starred in the legal drama “Suits” before she married Prince Harry in 2018. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

“The real problem here is the optics,” he said. “Even if it was the logical completion of a short-term, narrowly described engagement, it comes on the heels of numerous resignations in recent months, all of which give the impression that this is a less-than-desirable work environment. Again, that might not be the reality, but it certainly creates the perception.”

In 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke to Oprah Winfrey about their struggles with royal life. (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)

Fordwich noted that such frequent departures only conjure up memories of bullying allegations made against the duchess. Royal reporter Valentine Low broke the story in 2021, just days before the couple’s televised interview with Oprah Winfrey aired. Meghan’s team strongly refuted the claims.

Schofield said it goes back further.

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Kinsey Schofield told Fox News Digital how Princess Diana didn’t see eye-to-eye with her private secretary Patrick Jephson. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

“Princess Diana’s former press secretary Patrick Jephson once wrote about the unraveling of his professional relationship with the late princess,” she explained. “He described how it began when Diana started believing her own publicity, when the headlines she had carefully curated began to give her a false sense of invincibility.”

“Harry and Meghan appear to suffer from a similar kind of fatigue,” Schofield shared. “They rely heavily on a small circle of sympathetic outlets to craft flattering coverage, and Meghan in particular seems to take those narratives as confirmation of her worldview.”

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“The reality is that Meghan Markle is a deeply polarizing figure,” Schofield continued. “A seasoned communications professional would acknowledge that and develop a long-term strategy to reshape public perception. But patience has never been her strong suit. Rather than engage with criticism constructively, Meghan seems to prefer the illusion that everyone is on her side, and her haters are secretly at home making single-skillet spaghetti.”

A holiday special of the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan” is in the works for Netflix. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

Eldridge noted that now, Meghan and Harry must find an ally who will not only stay with them but help them appear authentic and thriving in California if they want to silence lingering rumors for good.

“The easy part will be hiring a new person,” said Eldridge. “The hard part will be hiring a talented person and, more importantly, retaining them. It’s Halloween season, and we all remember that one spooky house that kids didn’t want to walk past — much less stop —whether trick-or-treating or any other day of the year.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is seen leaving the Balenciaga show on Oct. 4, 2025, in Paris. (Pierre Suu/GC Images/Getty Images)

“If this string of mass departures continues, Meghan runs the risk of becoming the equivalent of that scary house: qualified professionals simply won’t stop there anymore.”