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Fall brings a gust of change for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Unfortunately, the royal pair have bid farewell to their trusted private secretary Samantha Cohen. The bittersweet news was announced via the official Court Circular on Friday, October 11, stating: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this afternoon received Ms Samantha Cohen upon relinquishing her appointment as Private Secretary to Their Royal Highnesses."
The royal couple have already filled the important position with the highly-experienced Fiona Mcilwham, who has previously served as the British Ambassador to Albania. Though the palace had intended to hire a private secretary from within the already approved royal household roster, the 45-year-old won over palace officials with her demeanor and experience.
Fiona has a glowing résumé, becoming one of the youngest ambassadors for Britain at age 35. In the past, she worked as Director for Western Balkans and Enlargement at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom. Of course, she still has some big shoes to fill.
Former secretary Samantha had previously served as none-other-than Queen Elizabeth's private secretary. She was transferred to working for Harry and Meghan as their interim private secretary until the couple secured a more permanent employee. Samantha most recently joined the royal pair and their baby Archie Harrison on their whirlwind tour of South Africa.
It had previously been announced that Samantha handed in her notice sometime last year, but agreed to stay on after she was offered the new position. She was then set on leaving once Meghan gave birth and the trio were settled. Originally from Australia, Samantha joined the Buckingham Palace communications office back in 2001. Before starting her journey with the royals she worked in civil service and public relations.