The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been hit with another round of bad news after their most senior and longest-serving aide announced his departure.
James Holt had been with the couple for more than five years and served as head of their organisation, Archewell.
The blow comes just days after they parted ways with yet another publicist, Meredith Maines.
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Mr Holt was the Sussexes PR boss from 2019 to 2021, the period when they decided to start a new chapter separately from the royal family, and even relocated to California with them.
He was so close to the Sussex’s that he featured in their Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan, where he discussed how Brexit had destroyed Meghan’s “fairy tale” of marrying her prince.
Despite his integral role, it is understood that Mr Holt’s departure was motivated by a desire to spend time back home with his family in London.
In a statement shared to the media, Mr Holt said: “Working with Prince Harry and Meghan has been one of the great privileges of my career.”
He goes on to reference his first project with Prince Harry eight years ago to improve mental health support for soldiers in the British army, and saying that Harry “has consistently challenged me to think bigger about how we can make a difference”.
Mr Holt added that he noticed a “kindred spirit” in Meghan, and mentioned his “immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead” for the Sussex’s.
The couple released their own statement thanking Mr Holt, saying he “has been a stellar support for us for nearly 10 years”.
“As James moves his young family back to the UK, we are proud that he will continue to guide various humanitarian trips for us overseas through Archewell Philanthropies.”
Mr Holt’s resignation comes days after the Sussex’s chief of communications officer, Meredith Maines, announced her departure despite being in the role for only 10 months.
Ms Maines was the couple’s 11th publicist to have left since they moved to the US in 2020.
Harry and Meghan made headlines just weeks before Ms Maines quit, after they attended Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party on November 8.
When the pair were pictured in Instagram photos shared from the night, they copped some heavy backlash.
“They don’t want to piss off the royal family while they are trying to reconcile,” an inside source told News.com.au.
As the head of PR for Harry and Meghan, Ms Maines had to deal with the fallout of the drama.
A source close to Ms Maine’s told Page Six that the drama with the Kardashians was the “final straw” for her.
However, in a statement Ms Maines expressed her gratitude for the couple and said that she “will be pursuing a new opportunity in 2026”.
It was only in October that the Sussex’s had their director of communications, Emily Robinson, leave after being in the role only four months.
Ms Robinson had previously worked for Netflix as the head of PR for The Crown, when the couple poached her.
One friend of Ms Robinson’s told the Daily Mail: “It was her decision. She’s not a quitter, so things must have been pretty horrible for her to go.”
A former UK Sussex employee told the Telegraph that “Meghan has a habit of using a whisper shout, so when Harry is in the room, he just hears her talking normally and doesn’t understand why people describe her as aggressive.
“His default response is always ‘Meghan is misunderstood’.”
However, no bad blood has been confirmed by any of the departing aides.
