Catherine St-Laurent worked as chief-of-staff to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for about eleven months, and she currently serves as senior advisor to the Archewell Foundation. St-Laurent left the chief of staff position in March of this year, which led to “royal sources” running around to British papers, claiming that St-Laurent probably left because Meghan is too demanding and Meghan is a terrible bully. As I said at the time, it’s one thing for these clowns to launch an obvious smear campaign about a couple when they are IN the UK. It’s quite another when royal sources have that much negative sh-t to say about a Canadian executive working at an American charity.
In any case, St-Laurent is still working with the Sussexes in some capacity, and her background is with charities and foundations anyway, having previously worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation before the Sussexes. She now has a “boutique philanthropic advising and social-impact consulting firm” and she also has two very young children. She took part in The Cut’s “How I Get It Done” series and she was asked about the Sussexes:
On working with Megan and Harry:
It was an incredible experience. They are incredibly talented and creative leaders. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do that, to be able to be with them on their journey. The time that I spent with them was incredibly fulfilling. I think they have the potential to be very influential leaders in the social-impact space. I look forward to continuing to be a part of that.
I mean, that’s pretty boilerplate. She would say that even if she wasn’t still connected to them. She’s still a senior advisor to Archewell, and she also says she plans to relocate from Seattle to New York in the coming year. Her advisory position must be entirely over Zoom or emails! Which is fine. Anyway, I’m glad she talked them up. I wonder what the Americans and Canadians who work with Meghan and Harry think of the Saltine Island bullying claims.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I think she would say that if she wasn’t still working with them, but if she hated them she probably would have been less gushing (but still professional.)
I like that she was their chief of staff and then it seems like when she wanted to start her own company, they said “we’re happy for you, we’ll be your first clients,” which shows how they operate in terms of loyalty.
Exactly, Becks1. The Sussexes are the real deal. It needed to be said though and on the record, so I applaud St. Laurent’s comments. Amazing that a woman such as Meghan who has worked for years with a variety of people and organizations only seems to have been an extreme bully to a small handful of people working for Kate and William. I so hope the 30 page legal dossier sees the public light of day; KP so has it coming to them.
They are though? These are just the facts.
She’s absolutely right. They are incredibly talented – delightfully so.
Now let’s see how the rats nest spins this into a negative.
Everyone I know in Toronto who worked with Meghan found her professional, kind and socially conscious.
As they say on Salty Island, it is bollocks! Many people have commented on social media that prior to Meghan working with the ghouls in KP, there were no complaints from any of her castmates, or others in her distant or recent past that EVER experienced a bullying Meghan. None of the women she worked with at the Hubb Community Kitchen or Smartworks or any of her other patronages experienced her as a sociopathic bullying bloody narcissistic diva. It seems that the only place Meghan has been described as a bully is KP. Things that make you go hmm.
Totally! That’s the thing, if there was anything they could latch onto, they would. Just the fact that there is either silence, or glowing reviews of her previous work history says everything you need to know. I’m a Canadian transplant in London, and I can say I’ve experienced first-hand that people see my work ethic and curiosity as a threat. I’ve literally had coworkers and managers say that they feel threatened because of me. Not because I’m threatening, but because I’m making them look bad without breaking a sweat. My manager tried to tell me I’d burn myself out, when the opposite happened. When I didn’t have enough to do, I lost focus and started making mistakes because I wasn’t kept busy enough (so as not to ‘threaten’ my coworkers). I’m lucky enough to be white, so at least I don’t have the racial element that so many others, including Meghan, have had to endure. My biggest crime is always asking questions, having good stats, and maintaining good working relationships with clients (due to said work ethic). I know for a fact that KP staff aren’t used to being shown they’re not up to scratch.
This is why I’m so impatient with waiting for Schillings to force BP or KP or whichever of those fckers, to do what the royals have never done in their 1000-year history:……..apologize for smearing Meghan’s good name.
They are massively talented, kind and hardworking. This is why they have been targeted, harassed and driven from the UK. That and their jealous and petty “royal” relatives.
Yes, and the fact that Megan didn’t know her order in the pecking line, I guess! This is what happens when you let your ego run your life.
Weird how people who actually worked for them have nothing but nice things to say about them and say it with their names attached to it. But we are supposed to believe unnamed, faceless “sources” about how awful the sussexes and particularly meghan are.
Also funny how its only williams staff that had a problem with meghan. Maybe because they aren’t used to working because he and his wife barely do.
I still don’t know how william is going to rule a country one day when he can’t even sort out his own household.
Right?! It’s always “William’s staff” or “that woman was merciless to my staff” or Kate dressed her down for being rude to “her staff”.
It struck me that the issue was the staff was seen as being W and K’s, not a shared resource for the ill fated Fab Four. So any requests to staff were probably stonewalled, leading to frustration for M and H.
The households were separated after these incidents were purported to have taken place. So until then, weren’t they Meg’s staff too? Please correct me if Im not expressing this right.
You’re right on the money, Nivz. I think part of the problem was that Meghan genuinely thought KP staff were there to help make her projects and goals a reality, when all the while they were actually reporting back to William to sabotage her every move. Any time she asked them to do anything, they resented it.
This whole bullying claim stands out as such an obvious lie to anyone who has ever had to join an already established team in an office – there are always a few employees (usually the laziest ones) who instantly hate the new manager, snark about their every move, resist anything new simply because ‘it’s not how we do it here,’ and jump at every opportunity to cut the manager down to size. Now, imagine if the CEO of the company (in this case Will, sorry Kate) was actively egging them on because he wanted to undermine the new manager just as much as they did? Meghan never stood a chance against those jackals.
Also, as many have pointed out on social media, Meghan had a sterling reputation throughout her years in Hollywood, on set, working with reputable charities, etc – but they want us to believe that she suddenly became a horrible bully when she arrived at the palace, the bastion of privilege and white supremacy, home to the most pompous, out of touch, entitled people in the world? It’s laughable.
No you are absolutely right @Nivz. They were her staff too. But i assume (and this is speculation based on the stories reported) that kp staff flipped when meghan started demanding that these staff actually do their job. In their minds she was never their boss. That is why you hear so many of these stories about “meghan didn’t know her place” “meghan had a problem with hierarchy”.
She probably didn’t but simply expected her staff to do the job she set them on. Which is a reasonable expectation to have if you look at it from a “firm” point of view. Because w,k,h&m all technically had the same position within said firm. But i think kp staff probably looked at it from a hierarchy point of view. Ergo they couldn’t believe that this woman who was merely married to the 6th in line and was a complete outsider had the nerve to demand anything from them.
Also, didn’t Meghan throw a going away party luncheon when she left, for her staff, and there were reports of some of the staff crying and they mentioned how wonderful it was to work with them! Am I remembering this correctly?
@BothSidesNow you’re remembering correctly, but also remember that by that time Meghan and Harry were working out of Buckingham Palace, so it would’ve been entirely different staff than the vipers at KP.
That’s what someone pointed out on Twitter. Those talking badly about H&M are always hiding behind “a source” and those who defend them put their face and name on it.
Agree, Pao. William’s ‘STAFF’ and his equally ‘sparkling’ temper does seem to be the alpha and the omega of most of House Cambridge’s real problems!
First impressions- good, we need more of these statements to counter the ugliness coming out of Camp Keen.
She is far away enough from the Uk that she is insulated from the media’s revenge. It’s gotta take so much courage for British people to speak out because of how the tabloids go after them if they show support for the Sussexes. Dean and Alana Stott eg.
It’s weird that she didn’t mention them by name in her quote isn’t it? So no one can quote her as saying Harry and Meghan are talented. She just said “they” or am I reading too deep into this?
I’d say you’re over-reading. It is natural to use pronouns to refer to a named subject in direct response: How is Susie Blank? She is fine– rather than How is Susie Blank? Susie Blank is fine.
@ Merricat : I teach grammar and you are absolutely correct. Pronouns are supposed to be used this way – say the name once and then go with the pronouns.
If you go to the actual article, you’ll see that it’s formatted as excerpts from a larger interview of questions and answers. The part where she’s talking about H&M is headed exactly as above – “On Working with Meghan and Harry”. Presumably, the author asked, “How was it working with Meghan and Harry?” No need to repeat the names in the answer.
@ Blowfish : I think her only staying ten months is telling. She stayed years at her previous job with the Gates Foundation and she had young children then too. Maybe she just wants to move to the East Coast and so the Sussex job became unviable. I agree with Kaiser that the statement is boilerplate and it’s also vague in a positive way. This is hardly surprising especially since her career is PR. She made a gracious exit – no need to burn any bridges even if that was the case.
You’re leaving out the fact that she’s starting her own consulting firm which is why she’s leaving. Also she is still working with the Sussexes which she would most likely decline if the experience was bad. She clearly had a good experience and wants to stay involved even as she launches her own company.
It is perfectly normal for someone to exit after a transitional period. March was one year from their UK exit. It makes sense that St. Laurent would help them establish Archewell and then move to a consultant role, as their needs have obviously shifted. Your insinuations are as transparent as they are baseless.
Her children are 2 and 5 and she worked for the Gates Foundation until 2019 so that would make just 1 small child for part of that time. Also their previous employee James Holt came to take over the foundation so the deal may have been for her to just get it started until he could move. Or it could be that Meghan, who supports other women as entrepreneurs, encouraged and maybe even helped her in getting started in her own business. I prefer to speculate based on provable facts and not nasty innuendo.
Staying ten months is telling of what exactly? And her contract was only for one year. I think her plan after she left working with the Gates was to start her own business and Harry and Meghan were basically her first clients. It looks like if she was planning a move to the east coast she was never going to stay long term.
I’m sure it was part of the various press articles when she signed on that she was helping them launch and would only be there for a year at most. But, of course, let’s rewrite this as well, Still Sarah.
She also is addicted to the word incredible. It’s hilarious.
@Isabella. She said “incredibly” twice. Hardly an addiction.
Yea the crows over at DM had a go in the comments when this story ran on the weekend. High staff turnover rates and no one can stand to work with her blah blah blah. Zero mention of the rats fleeing the SS Keenbridge though. All silent on that front.
The Cambridges had more staff turnover in the last 1,5/ 2 years than the Sussexes had for the time that they were senior royals. But you wont hear the daily mail talk about that.
High staff turnover rates? The last few stories have been about new hires, not turnover. Wow, “A worker leaves at the end of her contract! Breaking news!” No wonder the Fail is losing money.
“I think they have the potential to be very influential leaders in the social-impact space”
And in today’s headlines, an explosion that could be heard from miles away is reported as coming from the halls of Kensington palace. We have just received confirmation that this was the result of a head exploding from incandescent rage. Sources on the ground report chaos and havoc amongst the courtiers and palace residents. This explosion seems to have destroyed nearly all of the strenuously built walls of the prince’s PR. We will keep you updated as we hear more.
🤣….if it were only true….that would be an enormous mess with a head that size!
People who have names say nothing but great things about the Sussexes. It’s only the the nameless “source” who complains. This is why KP will not win a lawsuit regarding bullying. The proof is not on their side.
As much as I want Harry and Meghan to throw a tickertape parade with all their receipts, this is pretty great, too. Is KP just so accustomed to no one questioning their lies, that it didn’t occur to them that St-Laurent herself might speak up and call bullshit when they suggested that she left because Meghan is a screeching harpy?
I think that’s one of their biggest weaknesses. They don’t know how to operate outside of the UK and their insular white supremacy royalists outside of the UK. In the UK they can control who can speak by silencing them, but outside of the UK they don’t have that power and are still delusional enough to think they do. Also the Murdoch media empire tries to transplant it for them, but at the same time it has far more competition globally than they do in the UK where the press is controlled.
They didn’t expect St.Laurent to speak up because they thought they could silence her like they do others with their media bullying.
Unless it’s part of their job descriptions, I don’t think Americans and Canadians (or even the British) who work with H&M pay attention to the tabloids.
Cain and unable are children, they staff consist of children. They have play dates. They don’t understand what it’s like to be grownups and professional so they continue to show their asses and act like the playground bullies they are. Meghan and Harry are grown adults who understand how the profession adult world operates.
All people including Brits (outside of the snakes at KP) who work with Harry and Meghan say glowing things about them. Even in Harry’s partying days his charitable work was admirable. Most of which he did “off the books”. And Meghan in a short time manage to build strong relationships with organizations in the UK. That what makes the smear campaign so obvious.
This won’t make the British press but who cares? She’s just confirming what other people have said about Harry and Meghan.
I miss Meghan stories. She should take all the maternity leave she needs (having not gotten proper rest the last time) but I do miss her out in the public eye.
Most people who worked with them in US/Canada were probably taken aback by the allegations as evidenced by the mountain of support Meghan in March ranging from costars to makeup artists and writers to production assistants. Their new head of Audio, Rebecca Sananes, was extremely happy when talking about joining them on her podcast Pivot last Thursday(FF to last 10 minutes) , so obviously no one over here is giving much credence to the crap being written on the other side of the pond.
And even though this was a standard boilerplate response im not surpised to hear her call them creative. Both Dawn Porter and Oprah talked about how leaned in Harry was on production of The Me You Can’t See and that he brought extensive notes for each session and we all know how meticulous Meghan is. Must be nice for them to work now with people who want to take their notes and have discussions on how to get the best result instead of running to the tabloids to cry about them being too opinionated and working too hard.
I wonder if her being merciless is bc she gave her staff only need to know info. William was always trying to take credit for her work so she put an end to that.
Merciless is interesting, right? Meghan might agree that she showed no mercy with certain staff members bc she doesn’t suffer fools.
Meghan was treated horribly by her “staff”. They are a bunch of salty white snobs whose only talent is screwing the pooch at work, and they don’t take gladly to being directed by a bi-racial American woman. Meghan isn’t the type of person who “doesn’t suffer fools”, rather it’s been substantiated that she strives to be as cooperative and understanding as possible, knowing full well she’s in a different culture and being judged mercilessly.
I am just thrilled that people who actually worked with Harry and Megan keep voicing what we all already know and that’s, they are great to work with. I’ve said it repeatedly, you don’t live to be in your mid thirties always being mindful of how you treat people to suddenly when you’ve got a spotlight on you, start mistreating people. That’s not how human nature works and Meghan especially as a woman of color knows she won’t be given any grace because POC never are given grace for anything by the world.