Amy Pickerill Is Officially Meghan Markle's New Private Secretary

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published 20 February 2018

Amy Pickerill has officially been appointed as Meghan Markle's new private assistant secretary. She will handle Meghan's increasingly busy schedule and take care of any of her correspondence. According to ET (opens in new tab), Pickerill, a former Kensington Palace press officer, was given her official title on February 19, exactly three months before Meghan and Harry tie the knot.

To recap, once Prince Harry and Meghan Markle officially announced their engagement in November (opens in new tab), it was only a matter of time before Markle received the royal treatment (opens in new tab) in every aspect of her life—including getting her own personal assistant (opens in new tab). To help manage Markle's royal duties, Prince Harry enlisted Senior Communications Officer Amy Pickerill—who made her first public appearance with the royals during their visit to Cardiff Castle (opens in new tab).

Although this may technically be Pickerill's first foray onto the global stage, the 32-year-old assistant has been working with the royals for over a year already, helping the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Prince Harry with their official duties. Here, everything you need to know about Pickerill and her new relationship with Markle.

Her Journey to the Royals

Pickerill graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2007 and began her career working at the HM Treasury in 2009. She was then the media relations manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland before heading over to the RBS press office as head of campaigns. In 2014, she moved to Manhattan for less than a year to work at Ogilvy Public Relations and shortly after made her way back to the Royal Bank of Scotland—this time as the head of campaigns and regional media within the press office.

No word on exactly *how* Pickerill landed the royal position, but she's been working for Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry since September 2016 as their senior communications officer. The royals have a history of looking towards the public to fulfill their royal roles, considering the royal trio posted a job on LinkedIn last July (opens in new tab) to fulfill another senior communications officer position—this one solely focusing on the activities of The Royal Foundation (opens in new tab).

What She'll Do for Meghan

Pickerill will be Meghan's first private secretary to help her prepare to become a full-time royal. She'll reportedly (opens in new tab) do everything from organizing Meghan's diary to collecting flowers and gifts from the crowd when she attends royal engagements (opens in new tab), and may even take the lead on managing her personal schedule. (Think: meetings with foreign leaders, attending world events...you know, the usual.) It will be refreshing for Markle to have a right-hand woman who has also experienced life outside of the royal circle while she continues to adjust to her new life with Harry.

People, Crowd, Community, Event, Human, Hand, Recreation, Plant, Ceremony, Street, — Pickerill eagerly waiting behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Cardiff Castle as they engage with the public for their second appearance of the year.

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How Meghan Markle's Life Will Change as a Royal

Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop.