Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's New Out-of-Office Message Makes Their Royal Exit Final

By Emily Dixon

Apr 2, 2020

SIMON DAWSONGetty Images

March 31 was Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's last day as senior members of the British royal family.
News broke in February that the couple would close their U.K. office at Buckingham Palace, where they previously employed 15 people.
Their former official email now sends an automated reply, reading, "The office for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has now closed."

Well, it's official: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's U.K. office is closed for good. The ultimate confirmation? Their new out-of-office (forever) reply. As People reports, messages to their official email account now receive the following automated response: "Many thanks for your email. The office for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has now closed."

Meghan and Harry closed their Buckingham Palace office, where they employed 15 staff, back in February, after announcing that they would step down as senior royals the previous month. CNN reported that "efforts [were] being made to redeploy people within the royal household," though there would be "some redundancies."

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As we can all feel, the world at this moment seems extraordinarily fragile. Yet we are confident that every human being has the potential and opportunity to make a difference—as seen now across the globe, in our families, our communities and those on the front line—together we can lift each other up to realise the fullness of that promise. What’s most important right now is the health and wellbeing of everyone across the globe and finding solutions for the many issues that have presented themselves as a result of this pandemic. As we all find the part we are to play in this global shift and changing of habits, we are focusing this new chapter to understand how we can best contribute. While you may not see us here, the work continues. Thank you to this community - for the support, the inspiration and the shared commitment to the good in the world. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You’ve been great! Until then, please take good care of yourselves, and of one another. Harry and Meghan

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Mar 30, 2020 at 9:17am PDT

One such redeployment? The Sussexes' former head of communications, Sara Latham, who was hired by none other than Queen Elizabeth II. Before joining Meghan and Harry's team, Latham was a senior advisor during Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, advised Barack Obama after he was elected in 2008, and worked for Bill Clinton in the '90s. Quite a resume!

According to an anonymous royal insider, Latham "has great vision and has been through a baptism of fire at the palace as a result of Megxit and come out the other side." The source told the Daily Mail, "She'll be a breath of fresh air."

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