Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have lost another staff member with a long-time aide leaving them to set up their own company.

It has emerged that their global press secretary Ashley Hansen has decided to step down from her role working for the Sussexes after two years. It comes just days after she gushed about working for the couple in a US magazine after reports in another publication that Meghan ‘belittles’ staff and is known as ‘Duchess Difficult’.

However, Ms Hansen has not severed ties completely with Harry and Meghan. She has set up her own LA-based PR consultancy Three Gate Strategies. And it has been reported that she will continue to represent and advise Harry and Meghan as well as other clients across entertainment, tech, and finance.

Meghan said in a statement: “We are so proud of Ashley, especially as a female entrepreneur. We look forward to having her focused expertise on our business and creative projects and her continued oversight of our communications team. My husband and I are excited to be alongside Ashley as she builds something extraordinarily special with her firm.”

While Ms Hansen said: “I am incredibly grateful to The Duke and Duchess for their continued trust in me. Their unwavering support and belief in my new firm has been meaningful and is a testament to their leadership. I knew when they first hired me that they were giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and I couldn’t be happier to continue working together.”