Harry and Meghan accused of going through staff quicker than 'toilet roll'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were blasted by a royal source who claimed they go through staff "quicker than toilet paper" after the latest wave of departures from their team. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex fired at least six members of their PR team last month, including UK-based Charlie Gipson, their Director of Communications in Europe, and US-based Kyle Boulia, their Deputy Press Secretary.

One of the unlucky team members given the boot was Lianne Cashin, the former Head of Operations at Archewell, just weeks after she was promoted to a senior consultant and praised by sources close to the couple. Meghan Markle's social media manager was also cut.

The Sussex team had already grown smaller in recent months after Deesha Tank, Archewell's Director of Communications, resigned several weeks ago before the latest "purge".

Harry and Meghan have long been criticised for frequently changing staff and were even the subject of various scathing reports by the US media last year, including Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter, which focused on the Duchess's alleged behaviour towards employees.

Now, a new report by Page Six claimed that the Sussex couple had fired or parted ways with 25 staff members just since leaving the Royal Family five years ago.

The outlet claimed that some of the departures have not been publicised yet. A royal source said: "It's the same old story - they cycle through staff as quickly as normal people cycle through toilet paper. Milk lasts longer than their employees."

The US outlet also alleged that the recent wave of departures, also dubbed a "purge" by some sources, took place so the Sussex couple could focus on saving money.

Harry and Meghan made their sensational exit from the Firm in 2020 and moved to the US to be "financially independent" from the royals and pursue their own ventures.

They struck a number of deals with some of Hollywood's biggest companies, including Spotify and Netflix.

But their £73million ($100million) Netflix deal is coming to an end this year, and questions are being raised about whether it will be renewed.

So far, the Montecito couple has released five projects on Netflix: Harry & Meghan, Heart of Invictus, Live to Lead, Polo, and With Love Meghan.

Aside from their bombshell first docuseries and Meghan's lifestyle show, the rest of their project failed to gather the same level of attention.

According to the US outlet, the streamer is now prioritising "first look" deal rather than exclusive contracts, which would mean Harry and Meghan could re-sign their contract with "significantly less money" than their current deal.

This could, in turn, prove a headache for the couple as they try to bill their expenses, which reportedly reach about £1,4million ($2million) per year.

These included their house expenses and taxes, along with some money for their "faux-royal" tours, as well as paying for their communications, Archewell Foundation, production, and Montecito home employees.

Meredith Maines remains the couple's chief communications officer and Emily Robinson is their director of communications.

The Sussexes have also added PR agency Method Communications to their roster. An industry expert told the outlet about the latest depatures: "In a financial sense, it's cheaper to employ a PR firm, as opposed having to full-time staff."