Duchess Meghan’s assistant private secretary, Amy Pickerill, has quit, becoming the fourth member of the pregnant royal’s staff to leave in a matter of months.
Multiple outlets report that Pickerill will depart after the pregnant royal and her husband, Prince Harry, move to their new residence at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, England, this month.
A source told Entertainment Tonight that Pickerill is “a popular member of staff” and her exit is “amicable.” She had helped to introduce Meghan to royal life and helped organize the cookbook the duchess published to raise funds for families affected by London’s Grenfell Tower fire.
A friend of Pickerill’s told the Daily Mail that she has a good relationship with Meghan, 37, and “has agreed to stay on to help them with the birth of the baby and organize their new household but then will move on.” As Us Weekly previously reported, Meghan is due to give birth to the couple’s first child at the end of April or early May.
The Daily Mail reports that Pickerill, who is moving overseas, had been tipped to succeed the duchess’ private secretary Samantha Cohen, who is also leaving later this year.
Us confirmed in December that Cohen’s resignation was not because of any drama with Meghan.
“She agreed to stay for six months to help post-wedding and because Meghan and Harry were hoping a baby would some soon after that and knew they needed extra help,” a source told Us at the time. “Samantha has a lot of respect for Harry and Meghan and enjoyed working for them. But her time is now up.”
The announcement of her departure after working for the royal family for 17 years came just weeks after the resignation of Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Touabti.
A fourth member of staff, the former Suits star’s female bodyguard, who can’t be named for security reasons, also quit in January.
“The bodyguard is leaving Scotland Yard entirely, not just her role as PPO [personal protection officer],” a source told Us at the time. “The decision to leave was personal and no reflection on her time working with Meghan, who she liked working with. She will be missed.”
