logo
Royal watchers spot Kate's former longtime PA's cheeky Meghan act

Royal watchers spot Kate's former longtime PA's cheeky Meghan act

News.com.au19-07-2025
IN LONDON
The Princess of Wales' former longtime personal assistant has made some telling updates to her social media account.
Shortly after it was revealed last week that Kate's former employee and close friend, Natasha Archer, is departing Kensington Palace after 15 years, she made her Instagram page public – and royal watchers were quick to notice that she followed Meghan and her business, As Ever.
However, Ms Archer, 37, has since unfollowed both the accounts, according to US magazine People.
The former royal staffer had also been following members of the Duchess of Sussex's inner circle, including Daniel Martin and Heather Dorak – but they, too, appeared to have been removed.
It was reported last week that Ms Archer had quit her job with the Palace in order to set up her own private consultancy.
She was known to be an invaluable member of the private household, and has been by Kate's side for key events – both personally and professionally – throughout the years.
According to People, the royal couple has 'wished Natasha the very best for the exciting opportunities ahead'.
Ms Archer first joined royal employment in 2010 and worked as a personal assistant to both Prince William and Kate – the latter of whom she developed a close friendship with over the years, and became an unofficial stylist.
Last year, it emerged that she had been promoted to senior private executive assistant for both the Prince and Princess of Wales back in 2022.
'Natasha deserves this boost — she's unfailingly discreet and loyal to Kate. The salary boost will be welcome too. This appointment means we can expect to see Natasha by Kate's side for years to come,' a source told the Daily Mail at the time.
'It seems to be Kate's way of thanking her for her loyalty.'
Ms Archer is widely credited with reshaping Kate's wardrobe in recent years, evolving her royal look from the more traditional coat dresses to modern suits.
She is also reportedly a close confidante for the princess, providing support and discretion during her cancer battle and subsequent break from the public eye throughout last year.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Magda Szubanksi becomes the fifth woman in more than 40 years to enter Logies Hall of Fame
Magda Szubanksi becomes the fifth woman in more than 40 years to enter Logies Hall of Fame

ABC News

time2 hours ago

  • ABC News

Magda Szubanksi becomes the fifth woman in more than 40 years to enter Logies Hall of Fame

Almost 40 years after she first appeared on our silver screens, Magda Szubanski will be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame. Szubanski will become the fifth woman to be awarded the honour, following Rebecca Gibney's induction last year. Despite being born in England, Szubanski has won over the hearts of Australians by creating some of our most beloved characters. The star has won seven Logies over her career and has twice been named the Most Popular Person on Television — in 2003 and 2004. The induction also comes months after she revealed her diagnosis of stage 4 blood cancer. In a video posted in May, the 64-year-old said she had been diagnosed with a "very rare, very aggressive, very serious lymphoma". Szubanski got her start with boundary-pushing sketch shows including The D-Generation, Fast Forward, Full Frontal and Big Girl's Blouse. However, it was the role of Sharon Strzelecki that would make her an unforgettable figure of Australian television. Szubanski played the netball tragic Strzelecki in Kath and Kim from 2002 to 2007. When asked in 2015 how she was able to create such an enduring character, Szubanski said a lot of Strzelecki came from her own "forlornness and that melancholy". "Sharon has those bass notes within her character, and I think that's part of why she appeals to people," she told 7.30. Of her most successful forays into the big screen, Szubanski would team up with Australia's director/producer George Miller for three of them. First was 1995's Babe, followed by Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011). Despite Babe's Oscar success (it won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1996), Szubanski once described the set as "bizarre". "It was like making a film in a zoo. It was the most bizarre experience," Szubanski said, reflecting on the children's film in 2020. She also went on to call it a "really beautiful film in every way". Other blockbusters included The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, Memoir of a Snail, The Golden Compass and musical Bran Nue Dae. Beyond the screen, Szubanski became an influential figure for her LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Her work during the Marriage Equality campaign even saw her appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2018. Her award-winning memoir, Reckoning, also saw her tackle the story of her father's life as a Polish assassin. Following her cancer reveal in May, Szubanski was met with an outpouring of love from Australia, including stars such as Rove McManus. "Lots of love and support to you, beautiful one," the television personality posted at the time. While most of the Logie Awards have some kind of public voting component, the annual Hall of Fame inductee is solely chosen by "a panel of independent industry experts". Each broadcaster can submit four people or programs for Hall of Fame consideration. The panel then assesses the submissions against the following criteria: Once the panel makes their selection, it is up to the Logies' discretion if they want to announce the winner before the ceremony. Other female Hall of Fame inductees include Rebecca Gibney, Mother and Son's Ruth Cracknell, Playschool's Noni Hazlehurst and presenter Kerri-Anne Kennerley. The TV WEEK Logie Awards will be held on August 3, on Channel 7.

King Charles ‘cried the night before marrying Princess Diana'
King Charles ‘cried the night before marrying Princess Diana'

News.com.au

time6 hours ago

  • News.com.au

King Charles ‘cried the night before marrying Princess Diana'

King Charles reportedly wept the night before marrying Princess Diana, knowing he was still in love with his ex, Camilla. But he wasn't the only one to shed tears. 'They both [cried],' royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital, referring to doomed couple Charles and Diana. 'Diana was reluctant about marrying Charles but was told by her sister it was too late. The tea towels with their joint images were already being sold. Charles was given cufflinks with a Camilla insignia, which he wore on his wedding day so that she could be included, which allegedly made him emotional.' Turner's claims came shortly after People magazine looked back at Charles and Diana's royal wedding July 29, 1981. 'According to the biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Charles felt pressured into his marriage to Diana and was still torn about his love for the then-married Camilla,' the outlet shared. 'He even cried over it the night before his nuptials.' British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital the book's author, Sally Bedell Smith, told her that Charles did cry the night before marrying Diana. 'In covering the king's coronation [in 2023], I was live on set with Sally Bedell Smith,' she said. 'I asked her about him crying the night before his wedding, which she confirmed.' While the explosive marriage of Charles and Diana is well documented, Fordwich said the younger royals of today should be grateful that they won't have to ever endure similar heartache. 'The tumultuous love triangle of Charles, Diana and Camilla is an infamously sad study of the clash between traditional royal duty versus personal fulfilment and happiness at the heart of Britain's monarchy,' Fordwich explained. 'Then-Prince Charles reportedly told his friends he felt compelled by his father, Prince Philip, to marry Diana not due to deep love, but rather to comply with royal convention. 'He had to marry a virginal, suitable bride who would meet public expectations of a future queen,' she shared. 'Camilla was regarded as completely 'unsuitable' due to her many previous relationships and marital status. Certainly, the Church of England wouldn't permit the heir to the throne to marry a divorcee. 'His godmother, Patricia Mountbatten, said he realised he was 'too committed' to back out of marrying Diana,' Fordwich continued. 'Still, she knew he was making a mistake given his love for Camilla, who remained his soulmate despite being married to another man.' Charles met Camilla in 1970 through mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz. According to reports, Charles was instantly smitten. Despite a blossoming romance, Charles joined the Navy in 1971. While Charles was serving, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, an ex-boyfriend of the royal's younger sister, Princess Anne, in 1973. According to reports, a devastated Charles tried to stop Camilla from marrying Parker Bowles, but the pair remained friends. As the former lovers stayed close, Charles began courting Lady Diana Spencer in 1980. 'By the time Charles married Diana, supposedly, Camilla's physical relationship with him had ceased,' said Fordwich. 'However, their emotional bond continued, for which both were derided. The tabloids termed her 'the other woman.'' And it was easy for Diana to see that Camilla continued to play an important role in the life of the man she was going to marry. 'At first, Diana professed to be very much in love with Charles but expressed to many she felt foolish and jealous once she fully grasped his emotional attachment to Camilla,' Fordwich explained. 'The press, both sides of the family and even her Spencer sisters made it clear to her that she simply couldn't back out of the wedding once her face was 'on the tea towels.' … The entire nation and the world were giddy with excitement regarding their imminent wedding. 'On her wedding day … the public speculated her sleepless look was due to wedding nerves. No one was aware of her knowing of Camilla's place in Charles' heart, which rendered her distraught. 'Diana later described feeling she was 'the luckiest girl in the world,' but she also knew Charles' true affections lay elsewhere,' Fordwich continued. 'Her emotional turmoil would damage not only the rest of their marriage but, to this day, it has ramifications in Prince Harry's behaviour, given his deep-rooted resentment of Camilla as well as his mistrust of the media.' Camilla made the royal wedding's guest list, likely due to her husband's role as the Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, People magazine reported. While several reports claimed Camilla wore white during the ceremony, catching Diana's eye, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams clarified to Fox News Digital that she wore a 'pale grey dress with a veiled pillbox hat.' Problems only worsened during Charles and Diana's honeymoon. 'From the start, the public preferred the princess, though privately she was angst-ridden and bulimic,' said Fitzwilliams. 'It does seem that fate almost inexorably decreed that, once it had been set in motion, it was impossible to call the wedding off. Diana's discovery of a bracelet Charles had bought for Camilla before the wedding worsened her suspicions that she had a dangerous rival.' 'The divide between Charles and Diana was exacerbated by the gulf between their respective ages, their completely different interests, as well as their worldviews,' added Fordwich. 'Even on their honeymoon, they reportedly had some rather major personality clashes. Later, there was the lurid scandal of 1989 that exposed Charles and Camilla's ongoing affair. It shocked the public and irreparably damaged Charles' reputation.' 'The British public hasn't forgotten,' Fordwich added. Charles and Diana separated in 1992. In 1995, Diana gave a bombshell interview to BBC's Panorama during which she declared, 'Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.' Their divorce was finalised in 1996.

‘I hope she knows what she's talking about': Martha Stewart speaks out after Meghan Markle copycat claims
‘I hope she knows what she's talking about': Martha Stewart speaks out after Meghan Markle copycat claims

Sky News AU

time10 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

‘I hope she knows what she's talking about': Martha Stewart speaks out after Meghan Markle copycat claims

Business entrepreneur Martha Stewart has finally spoken out about Meghan Markle's fledging lifestyle brand As Ever, after the Duchess of Sussex was accused of copying Stewart's career playbook. Stewart, who was America's first self-made female billionaire, pioneered cooking and lifestyle products with her eponymous company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Through her company, Stewart, 83, produced dozens of best-selling cookbooks and entertaining guides, launched product lines, multiple TV programs and a monthly magazine. Stewart's success has inspired a wave of celebrities from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jessica Alba to enter the lifestyle space, with the Duchess of Sussex the latest to reinvent themselves as a 'lifestyle guru'. Meghan, 43, currently helms the Netflix cooking show With Love, Meghan and also sells jams and wines through her modest lifestyle brand As Ever. Both ventures appeared to borrow heavily from Stewart's career path and the homemaking legend was finally asked about the comparisons in a candid new interview with Yahoo Lifestyle. 'Meghan, I don't really know very well,' Stewart said. 'I hope she knows what she's talking about.' The entrepreneur then gently warned Markle that 'authenticity' was key to business success. 'Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important,' she said. The comments come after Markle was seen airily pulling rank on her cooking show and gently scolding guest Mindy Kaling for calling her 'Meghan Markle' instead of 'Meghan Sussex'. Meanwhile, an unnamed source close to Stewart claimed the legendary lifestyle guru privately finds any comparison to Markle's brand 'insulting'. 'Martha has seen hundreds of Meghan types come and go — and says they all come in with the same self-inflated hype, only to find out it's a whole new ball game when it comes down to brass tacks,' the source told InTouch magazine. 'She's tired of being quizzed by people over how she feels about Meghan's venture because, honestly, it's irritating and insulting to her that she's being compared to a rookie!'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store