Royal Tea: Apology to Meghan, Staff Issues, Diversity Efforts

A British court ruled Monday that The Mail does not have to issue a front-page apology to Meghan Markle after she won a privacy lawsuit until it challenges to court’s findings. The judge wrote: “The defendants are entitled to ask the Court of Appeal to look at their grounds and decide if those points justify the grant of permission to appeal. To refuse a stay in the meantime would negate that entitlement.”

The Duchess of Sussex sued the Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over five articles reproducing large portions of a private letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas, after her wedding to Prince Harry.

Judge Mark Warby ruled in her favor last month, and ordered the paper to publish a front-page statement on her victory, and run it online for a week.

STAFF DRAMA
Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry’s U.S. chief of staff Catherine St-Laurent, is leaving her role after less than a year, Page Six is told. She previously held senior roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and moved over to work with Meghan and Harry and be exec director of their nonprofit, the Archewell Foundation.

A source tells Page Six that St-Laurent has “transitioned to a senior advisory role for Archewell, joining a dedicated group of esteemed colleagues both UK- and US-based who provide organizational guidance. She will continue to bring high-level strategic guidance to Archewell, which she helped launch and build over the course of the past year.”

This comes after The Times of London recently reported that Meghan bullied staffers; while in the U.K., the Sussexes lost several staffers, including Markle’s personal assistant Melissa Toubati and their senior communications officer Amy Pickerill, alongside their private secretary Samantha Cohen.

Meghan and Harry are making hires as well. They brought on producer Ben Browning as head of content for Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio, the companies they launched with their partnerships with Netflix and Spotify. Browning's past work includes The Big Sick, Arrival and Room as well as current Academy Award Best Picture nominee Promising Young Woman.

“From the moment they shared their vision for Archewell as a global production company that will spotlight diverse voices and share uplifting stories, I knew I wanted to help with this unique opportunity,” Browning said in a statement. “It's a thrilling company to be starting.”

DIVERSITY

Queen Elizabeth, meanwhile, is considering appointing a diversity chief following claims of racism inside the Royal Household from Meghan and Harry.

A source tells People: “Diversity is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the Royal Households. We have the policies, the procedures and programs in place, but we haven't seen the progress we would like in terms of representation and more needs to be done, we can always improve. The work to do this has been underway for some time now and comes with the full support of the family.”