- It was announced today that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's split from Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal household had begun.
- Sara Latham was named as the new head of Harry and Meghan's communications team.
- Latham has a long history of working with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as some political experience in the U.K.
It was made clear a while back that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's team would split from that of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But when news broke today that it had finally happened, the announcement prompted as many questions as it answered. Poised to answer these questions—and to handle messaging for the newly created Sussex household—is Sara Latham, a former senior advisor for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. She was tapped to lead Harry and Meghan's communications team.
Here's everything we know about Sara Latham, newly-minted royal staffer:
She has a background in politics.
From 1996 to 2000, according to her LinkedIn, Latham served as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff during Bill Clinton's second term. She must have endeared herself to Hillary too, as the former First Lady later brought Latham on to her 2016 presidential campaign as a senior advisor. Latham worked for Hillary Clinton during the main stretch of the campaign, from August 2015 until November 2016.
According to her biography on the Milken Institute's website, Latham "led the political strategy and execution for the 'super surrogates,' (Obama, Biden, President Clinton) and ran the campaign’s covert running-mate selection process, announcement and general election plan." Latham is also often referred to as the chief of staff for John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman. Latham even played a pivotal role in Podesta's infamous email leal during the 2016 presidential campaign. It was Latham who forwarded the phishing scam onto the IT employee asking if it was legitimate. That employee would incorrectly advise that it was "a legitimate email," causing Podesta to act on the email's instructions and give hackers access to his account.
She was in President Obama's orbit as well. USA Today reported that Latham had "helped [John] Podesta sneak President Obama’s cabinet prospects in for secret interviews."
Latham also has experience in the U.K. government, serving as Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Sport and Olympics between 2005 and 2006. London was announced as the host of the 2012 Olympics in 2005.
Recently, Latham worked at a British PR firm.
Her stint at Freuds was a homecoming for Latham, who had been a director at UK PR firm from 2003 and 2005, and per PR Week, she returned last year to lead the company's "change agenda."
She's an American.
Perhaps it's unsurprising that Meghan and Harry might gravitate toward an American to help them craft their public image and message. Latham, who according to her Linked in page has dual citizenship in the UK and US, is one of only a few Americans to have served as a political appointee in both the British and American governments.
In her new position, she'll report directly to the Queen’s Communications Secretary.
At the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new Buckingham Palace headquarters, Latham will lead the royal couple's communications strategy. "The Queen has given permission for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to base their Household Office at Buckingham Palace," royal reporter Lizzie Robinson explained in a tweet. "They will appoint new communications staff, who will form part of the Buckingham Palace communications team and report to the Queen’s Communications Secretary."
Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve.
