Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘axe 15 of their UK staff’ as they close Buckingham Palace office

The couple recently relocated to North America after stepping back from the Royal family

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly axing 15 of their UK staff, as they officially close their Buckingham Palace office.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently relocated to Canada with their son Archie, after they announced their plans to step back as senior members of the Royal family.

A source told the Daily Mail: “Given their decision to step back, an office at Buckingham Palace is no longer needed.”

“While the details are still being finalised and efforts are being made to redeploy people within the royal household, unfortunately there will be some redundancies.”

Buckingham Palace refused to comment on staffing matters when contacted by the newspaper, but it’s understood the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William are aware of the office closure.

The source continued: “The Duke and Duchess have a small team, less than 15 people. The team are very loyal to the Sussexes and understand and respect the decision they have taken.”

“They are all close and supporting each other. The team are busy helping to set their Royal Highnesses up for the future and working on a series of final engagements.”

Prince Harry will return to the UK to attend the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall on March 7, which will be his last engagement as Captain-General of the Royal Marines.

He and Meghan are also expected to attend the Commonwealth Day service on March 9.

Another source said: “I don’t think it will comes as surprise to anyone that these have been incredibly trying circumstances for their team, who have experienced some very difficult times of late.”

“They are all good people, very loyal and brilliant at their jobs, and everyone feels incredibly sorry for them.”