Last year, the British tabloids latched onto this idea that the Duchess of Sussex was a “diva” and everyone hated her and the evidence used was a “high turnover” among staffers. It never made any sense, because there’s always a high turnover, no matter which royal figure you’re talking about. No one works for royalty to get rich or because it’s some great gig – people do it for the prestige of working for royalty, and the ability to parlay that prestige into a better paying gig after a few years. Prince Charles, Prince William, Duchess Kate, even the Queen – they all have high staff turnovers. I guess the Daily Mail is trying to make up to the Sussexes though, because they’re pointing out that Duchess Kate fired one of HER staffers rather suddenly:

The Duchess of Cambridge has made one of her most loyal aides redundant after the newlywed returned from her honeymoon. Sophie Agnew, 32, had worked for Kate for seven years and her role has been made redundant following the split of the Sussex and Cambridge households, Palace sources claim. Like Kate, Sophie is a St Andrews history of art graduate, and was put in charge of the Duchess’s personal assistants. She recently tied the knot to insurance company director Stuart Hill and the timing of the decision has created further unease.

‘Sophie worked so hard for Kate,’ one of her friends told the Daily Mail. ‘She loved her job and made a lot of sacrifices. The timing of the redundancy is said to have added to the disquiet. ‘Sophie has only just got married and returned from her honeymoon,’ the friend added.

The aide was spotted in 2016 carrying a Longchamp pilage bag and a suit cover, bearing William’s cipher, embroidered by British company The English Room, as the Cambridges arrived for their one-week tour of India and Bhutan. She also joined the couple on their 2014 trip to Australia and New Zealand and has regularly been spotted by Kate’s side.

The Duchess’s private secretary, Rebecca Deacon, quit in 2017. Often seen standing discreetly behind her royal boss during engagements, Miss Deacon played an important role during the Duke and Duchess’ wedding.

‘It is true that Sophie has left after seven years of service,’ a senior source confirmed. ‘Her role has been made redundant as a result of the split of the households. She will not be replaced.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Rebecca Deacon was super-loyal and I think she just genuinely left to get married and start a family. I would find Sophie Agnew’s dismissal very questionable if Kate had done it under the presumption that Sophie was going to get pregnant soon as well – that would be pregnancy discrimination, which absolutely still happens. But… was that what really happened? I don’t know. It feels like the Sussexes and Cambridges have been shuffling their separate offices so much this year, it’s possible that Kate fired Sophie because she truly didn’t need her anymore, and the timing (post-honeymoon) was a coincidence. What IS clear is that Sophie must be kind of pissed that she was let go, thus the unnamed sources dishing to the Daily Mail.

Photos courtesy of WENN.