Prince Harry, Meghan Markle re-hire two former Buckingham Palace aides

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have re-hired two former Buckingham Palace aides who had lost their jobs when the couple decided to relocate to the United States.

Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy, who were among the 15 people working for the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex at their personal office at Buckingham Palace in London, have been hired back by the newly financially-independent royals. The two will work on a freelance basis with the couple to handle their charity projects in the United Kingdom, reports Mail Online.

Loughran worked as Meghan's aide when she joined the British Royal Family in 2018, and had previously worked for Prince Harry as well. The New Zealand native is married to Harry's ex-assistant communications secretary Nick Loughran. She was also recently made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order by the Queen, on Harry's recommendation. The honour is given to those who have served the monarchy with dedication in a personal capacity.

On the other hand, Beth Herlihy worked as the programme manager for the Sussexes from September 2018 until they quit as senior royals in March 2019. She also worked as an events coordinator at The Royal Foundation, which was started by Harry with his elder brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Loughran and Helihy will work for Harry and Meghan under their newly-formed company Herlihy Loughran, which describes itself as an "advisory partnership" that links "influential people" and organisations to good causes. According to sources, the royal couple is among their first clients.

The Sussexes, who recently achieved their financially-independent status by securing multi-million deals with Netflix and Spotify, have hired a number of high-profile professionals to work on their new projects. The couple is about to launch a new charity, Archewell, and have already started a new label Archewell Audio, under which they will create podcasts for Spotify. They have also started their own in-house PR brand.

Christine Weil Schirmer, who previously worked as a social media executive for Pinterest, has been appointed in the head of communications role, while Toya Holness has been appointed press secretary. The couple has also signed a deal with Hollywood PR firm Sunshine Sachs and their UK-based PR James Holt.

Catherine St Laurent, responsible for Melinda Gates' profile and communications activities at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been appointed their chief of staff as well as the executive director of Archewell.