Variety/Getty On Dec. 26, a key employee of the Sussexes decided to take wing, flinging open the emergency exit, sprinting down the jet bridge, and taking her own “freedom flight” after just 10 months in Sussex towers. Meredith Maines—whose LinkedIn page says that she was appointed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s chief U.S. publicist in March 2025—confirmed to The Royalist in a statement on Dec. 26 that she has decided to leave the couple’s operation. The official, unconvincing line is that it was all brilliant, but she quit because whatever work she was doing is now “concluded.” Read more at The Daily Beast.