Meghan Sussex’s Former Kensington Palace Aides Are Still Working With Her Six Years Later

Remember when Meghan Sussex was portrayed as so difficult to work for that palace employees supposedly couldn’t wait to escape? Well, someone might want to explain that narrative to Beth Herlihy.

During Prince Harry and Meghan’s October 15 visit to Nottingham, Herlihy was spotted helping coordinate their charitable engagements, collecting flowers from well-wishers and assisting with arrangements as the couple greeted supporters.

Nothing particularly unusual about that. Except Herlihy previously worked at Kensington Palace and has maintained a professional relationship with the Sussexes for years. And she isn’t the only former royal aide to have done so.

The sighting, reported by Hello! and subsequently examined by the Daily Mail, offers an opportunity to revisit the bullying allegations that dominated headlines about Meghan in 2021.

While former employees choosing to continue working with someone doesn’t automatically disprove complaints made by others, it certainly complicates the sweeping portrayal of Meghan as a universally disliked employer.

The Former Kensington Palace Aides Who Stayed With Harry and Meghan

Herlihy joined the Royal Foundation as an events manager in 2016, when the organisation supported the charitable work of Prince William, Kate Middleton, Harry and, later, Meghan.

She subsequently worked with the Sussexes and lost her palace position following their departure from official royal duties in 2020.

But that wasn’t the end of their professional relationship. Herlihy and another former royal aide, Clara Loughran, established their own consultancy, Herlihy Loughran, in 2020. The firm provides strategic advice and support for philanthropic projects.

Loughran previously worked as Harry’s programme manager and received a Member of the Royal Victorian Order honour for her royal service. Both women have continued working with the Sussexes through their independent professional ventures.

According to the Daily Mail, Archewell Philanthropies paid Herlihy Loughran $155,000 for consultancy services, not as an individual salary. Quite the contrast with Kate Middleton’s offer of £45,000 for a project manager with global ambitions. We are not surprised that Meghan, being a businesswoman, understands that expertise costs money.

Herlihy has also accompanied Harry and Meghan to international engagements, including the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf and events in Whistler, Canada, in 2024. And now, six years after the Sussexes stepped away from official royal duties, she is still there. That sounds like a rather successful professional relationship to me.

Embed from Getty Images

Whatever Happened to the Palace’s Bullying Investigation?

Let’s revisit March 2021. Just days before Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, The Times published allegations that Meghan had bullied members of the Kensington Palace staff.

The newspaper reported claims that two personal assistants had been driven from their positions and that another employee had been undermined. Meghan denied the allegations, with her representatives describing the reporting as an attack on her character. Buckingham Palace announced a review.

However, an important distinction is frequently lost when the investigation is discussed. The palace commissioned an independent review into how the royal household handled the complaints, rather than an investigation intended to determine whether Meghan personally bullied anyone.

By June 2022, the palace confirmed that the review had concluded and that recommendations concerning its human resources policies had been implemented.

But the findings were not released publicly. Palace officials cited confidentiality and the privacy of those who participated. They also declined to identify precisely which procedures had changed.

Consequently, the public was never given a published determination establishing that Meghan had bullied staff. Equally, the review was not a public finding that every allegation against her was false.

And that distinction matters. The allegations received enormous publicity. Yet the review’s conclusions remain private more than four years later.

The Former Palace Aides Who Chose to Stay Loyal to Meghan Sussex

This is the question I keep returning to. Herlihy and Loughran had experience working within the royal household. They understood the demands of royal service, the pressures surrounding public engagements and the personalities involved.

Both women subsequently chose to build an independent consultancy that has maintained a professional relationship with Harry and Meghan.

Why? Presumably, because they believed the relationship was worth maintaining. They were not obliged to continue working with the Sussexes after leaving royal employment. They established their own business and could pursue other clients.

Instead, years later, their consultancy continues to support the couple. That doesn’t mean everyone who worked with Meghan enjoyed the experience. Nor does it tell us what happened between Meghan and the individuals who made complaints. Different employees can have very different experiences of the same workplace.

But if the public was encouraged to believe Meghan created an intolerable working environment, surely the continued loyalty of former palace aides deserves some consideration too?

It is particularly striking that these women’s professional relationship with the Sussexes has survived the move away from palace employment, years of hostile headlines and the transition to an entirely different working arrangement. Perhaps Meghan’s relationship with her former staff was considerably more varied than the public was led to believe.

The Daily Mail Finds Another Reason to Attack a Sussex Aide

What I find especially revealing is how the Daily Mail chose to cover Herlihy’s appearance in Nottingham. Rather than focus primarily on her experience coordinating charitable initiatives or her continued professional association with the Sussexes, the newspaper devoted considerable attention to her previous acting career.

Its headline highlighted that Herlihy had played a stripper in Hollyoaks Later. The article also described an old photoshoot involving a PVC catsuit.

What does any of that have to do with her ability to coordinate charitable engagements in 2026? Absolutely nothing. A woman who built a career in philanthropy and strategic advisory work is still being introduced through a television role she played 15 years ago.

And for what purpose? Herlihy’s previous acting career is not a scandal. It doesn’t diminish her professional accomplishments, and it certainly doesn’t explain why she has maintained a working relationship with Harry and Meghan.

If anything, the more interesting story is that a former palace employee has successfully built an independent consultancy and retained prominent clients for years. But apparently that isn’t quite as exciting as reminding readers she once appeared in a soap opera.

Six Years Later, Some Former Palace Aides Are Still Standing Beside Her

What strikes me most about this story is the passage of time. Herlihy and Loughran established their consultancy in 2020. They have continued working with the Sussexes through international engagements, philanthropic projects and years of intense public scrutiny. That is not evidence that the original complaints were fabricated.

It is evidence that the Sussexes have maintained longstanding professional relationships with people who knew them during their time inside the royal household. And that deserves attention alongside the allegations that have followed Meghan since 2021.

The palace review remains unpublished, so no one outside the process can responsibly claim to know its full conclusions. But here is what we can see.

Beth Herlihy worked within the royal institution, continued her professional relationship with Harry and Meghan after their departure and was still helping coordinate their engagements in Nottingham in October 2026. Clara Loughran, another former royal aide, also continues to work with the couple through their consultancy.

If we’re going to discuss Meghan’s relationships with former palace employees, why shouldn’t those relationships be part of the conversation?

After five years of relentless headlines portraying Meghan as a difficult employer, the continued loyalty of former Kensington Palace aides tells a very different story. These women know Meghan personally, have worked alongside her for years and still choose to do so. Perhaps it’s time the British press gave that side of the story the attention it deserves.