Meghan Markle has been accused of “shedding people” rather than “pulling them together.” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have often been criticised for the rapid shakeup of staff members, as well as distancing themselves from people they’ve been previously close to.

Harry and Meghan’s latest departure, staff-wise, was Meredith Maines, who handed in her notice late last year, after only ten months on the job. In a message release on Boxing Day, the Sussexes’s spokesperson said: “Meredith Maines and Method Communications have concluded their work with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“The Duke and Duchess are grateful for their contributions and wish them well.”

Meanwhile, the Duchess has been accused of distancing herself from people she used to be close to.

Now, in the latest episode of the Palace Confidential Podcast, royal commentators have spoken about the couple’s friendships.

The Daily Mail’s Luke Blackall told royal editor Rebecca English: “Harry and Meghan, they shed people, rather than pull them together.”

Ms English replied: “That applies to the people that worked for them, people that supported them, as well as people who were considered friends.”

The royal editor accused the couple of being a “candle in the wind” before moving on to the next thing.

She explained: “This is something Meghan has been accused of throughout her life is, shedding friends, once they serve their purpose.

“Less so with Harry, but the trouble is the way he has behaved in recent years.

“I know of a close friend who was in the military and was very angry with what Harry did cause they said, ‘in the military, I was willing to lay down my life for Queen and country, for his grandmother and everything he’s done, since leaving the Royal Family, has been to undermine that, regardless of what he’s said about it’.”

She said there are people who feel “incredibly let down” by both the Duke and the Sussex.

The Duke and Duchess have been contacted for comment.

Another big departure from Meghan’s social circle was Jessica Mulroney, a Canadian stylist who used to be close to her and played a prominent role in her life before and during her relationship with Prince Harry.

But the two appeared to have a fallout after Jessica got embroiled in a "white privilege" row with Sasha Exeter, a black social media influencer, which took place in 2020.