Page QQQ Daily Mail, Monday, August 19, 2019Harry and Meghan were embroiled
in a fresh hypocrisy row after it
emerged they took their third gas-
guzzling private jet trip in little more
than a week.
The royals were pictured arriving in Nice
in the south of France on Wednesday after
flying in on a £15million aircraft.
They travelled with baby archie in a Cessna
Citation Sovereign which features a refresh-
ment bar and is described as the ‘pinnacle of
luxury’ by private jet firm and owner NetJets.
Experts said it would cost more than £20,
to hire for a one-way flight, Harry’s fourth on
a private jet in a month, which took off from
Farnborough airport in Hampshire.
There are more than 20 scheduled flights
from London airports to Nice each Wednes-
day from as little as £100 for a return.
Onlookers said Harry appeared to be trying
to avoid attention, staring at the ground as he
and his family were whisked from the tarmac
in a blacked-out Mercedes to a secluded villa.
The flight came just two days after the eco-
warrior couple flew home by private jet from
Ibiza after a six-night break celebrating Meg-
han’s 38th birthday. There, they stayed in a
‘billionaires’ playground’ of luxury mansionscosting up to £120,000 a week, with villas
including a chef, waiter and personal driver.
The gated complex of Vista alegre, which
boasts several sea-view villas, sits on a pictur-
esque hillside overlooking Porroig bay.
One of the most exclusive villas is believed to
be Sa Calma, and is said to cost £120,000 a
week. Previous guests include DJ David
Guetta and Sir Paul McCartney.
The three-storey property features an Olym-
pic-size pool and comes with a house man-
ager, chef and waitress and a yoga teacher
and personal trainer can also be arranged.
They left for Ibiza on august 6 – again by
private jet – making a total of three gas-guz-
zling flights in just eight days.
The choice of transport has sparked a new
hypocrisy row over the green credentials of
the couple who have previously claimed they
will have a maximum of two children to avoid
damaging the environment.
But their trip to the French riviera is esti-
mated to have created a carbon footprint of
more than three tons – producing seven times
more carbon emissions per person than aMEGHAN’S 3
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex
have become the first royals to
have an all-female team of senior
staff after appointing a pro-EU
former ambassador as their right-
hand woman.
The couple have just headhunted
Fiona Mcilwham, who became one of
the youngest British ambassadors in
history when she was appointed to
albania in 2009 aged 35, and has worked
as a senior adviser to the director-gen-
eral of EU enlargement.
She will start work next month as the
couple’s private secretary, the most senior
role in any royal household and equivalent
to a chief of staff. Intriguingly it means that
Harry and Meghan – who both describe
themselves as feminists – have chosen an
all-female team around them.
Miss Mcilwham joins their deputy private
secretary Heather Wong, head of communi-
cations Sara Latham, two senior female
press officers and a team of female private
office employees.
Their only male hiring has been a young
social media officer, in charge of their in-
house publicity, including beefing up theirBy Inderdeep Bains‘It’s a statement
of intent’
Crisis expert with Obama link
HEATHER WONG, deputy private secre-
tary: Rumoured to be moving on soon,
she started work for Harry as his assist-
ant private secretary but has also been
seen at Meghan’s side, too.
Glamorous, with an eye-wateringly
impressive CV, she has focused on build-
ing the couple’s initiatives across areas
including conservation, mental health
and HIV/Aids.
She was poached from Milltown Part-
ners, a rather secretive business work-
ing in ‘behind the scenes’ PR, crisis com-
munications and ‘reputational
management’ set up by Prince Charles’s
former spin doctor Paddy Harverson.
Miss Wong previously worked in the
Obama administration as deputy assist-
ant secretary of public affairs at the
Department of Homeland Security.FIONA MCILWHAM, private secretary: In
21 years at the Foreign Office she has built
up a wealth of international experience –
perfect for the couple who see them-
selves as ‘global citizens’ as well as royal
ambassadors. Her interest in women’s
rights will no doubt have scored points
with Meghan, too.
‘Harry and Meghan have felt frustrated
by the one-size fits all approach to being a
working royal and are aiming their star
far higher,’ said a source. ‘It is clear they
think Fiona is the person to do that.
‘Internally, the hope is, as someone with
enormous diplomatic experience, she will
also understand that, whether you like it
or not, there are limitations to being a
royal for a very good reason.’SARA LATHAM, head of communications:
Feisty but well-liked and impeccably
connected, the US-born PR supremo has
her work cut out for her.
Harry and Meghan’s first year of
marriage has been dogged by very
public fallings out with her father and
the Cambridges and accusations of
hypocrisy – preaching a green message
while flying in a private jet.
She worked for both Bill and Hillary
Clinton in the States and in the UK was a
special adviser to the late Tessa Jowell,
the Labour Culture Secretary.
Sources say her biggest challenge is
convincing Harry and Meghan that the
‘men in grey suits’ the prince hates so
much have their best interests at heart.Star with a diplomatic touch
PR chief facing a tough task
By Rebecca English
Royal Correspondent‘Doesn’t fit with
public image’As royal couple
extensively, with experience in
Bangladesh, Sudan, Baghdad,
Basra, Washington and
Pakistan.
She has also held posts in
the US and the Middle East,
as well as the Balkans. Col-
leagues describe her as charis-
matic and brilliant but also a
‘fully paid-up member of the
Euro elite’.
She lives in a £1million north
London townhouse with her
husband Daniel Korski and
their son. and it is Mr Korski
who has attracted most of the
headlines until now.
as prime minister David
Cameron’s controversial
former ‘enforcer’, Mr Korski
was one of the most powerful
figures in Downing Street, and
an architect of the remainreferendum campaign, dubbed
‘Project Fear’. In three years
as a special adviser to Mr
Cameron he was described as
‘the most ardent EU enthusi-
ast to ever work for a Tory
prime minister’.
In 2016 he was accused of
involvement in a complaint
against the then British
Chambers of Commerce direc-
tor-general, John Longworth,
after he gave a boldly Euro-
sceptic speech.
He was also involved in a row
over claims that pressure was
put on the then London Mayor,
Boris Johnson to prevent new
restrictions on taxi firm Uber
after the company agreed to
help encourage young people
to vote in the EU referendum.
at the time the youth vote wasexpected to be solidly pro-
remain. The former prime
ministerial adviser has strongly
denied any impropriety.
Mr Korski has since set up
his own firm, PUBLIC, which
helps start-up companies to
win government contracts
and public sector deals in
return for an equity stake.
Until now Harry and Meghan
have been relying on a ‘stop
gap’ private secretary, Saman-
tha Cohen, a hugely experi-
enced and well-liked long-
term palace operator who had
previously been deputy pri-
vate secretary to the Queen.
She quit her job in 2017 amid
behind the scenes difficulties,
but was persuaded by the
Queen to stay on working for
Harry and Meghan after theyannounced their engagement
in order to smooth their way
through the wedding and first
few months of married life.
She is understood to be on six
weeks’ leave now and will
return for the briefest of
handovers with her successor.
The other Team Sussex
female high-flyers are two sen-
ior female press officers and a
team of at least three female
behind the scenes staff,
including the prince’s long-
serving projects manager,
Cara Madden.
Meghan has a new personal
assistant after the previous
incumbent, Melissa Touabti,
quit after just six months. It is
also understood that the cou-
ple have employed a new
female nanny for baby archie.Luxury: The complex of villas in Ibiza features
Instagram site with glossy images and vid-
eos of the couple.
On her Twitter biography Miss Mcilwham,
who has worked for the Foreign Office for
21 years, describes herself as being: ‘Diplo-
mat and wannabe supermum; ex-HMa
[ambassador] Tirana and Director Western
Balkans.’ She has just completed a strate-
gic leadership course at the royal College
of Defence Studies.
Her appointment is hugely significant and
a sign of how determined Harry and Meg-
han are to make their mark on the interna-
tional stage. ‘It’s a statement of intent,’ one
source said last night.
Educated at St John’s College, Cam-
bridge, Miss Mcilwham, 45, has travelledThe Sussexes
make history
hiring an all
female team
of top staff