Fab Four fall-out: Kate’s aide axed in Palace split

THE Duchess of Sussex’s difficulties in holding on to staff have been well documented, but Meghan’s not the only royal suffering palace woes.

I hear the Duchess of Cambridge has made one of her most loyal aides redundant. Sophie Agnew, 32, had worked for Kate for seven years and the lay-off is said to have left her friends and family shocked.

‘Sophie worked so hard for Kate,’ one of her pals tells me. ‘She loved her job and made a lot of sacrifices.’

The timing of the redundancy is said to have added to the disquiet. ‘Sophie has only just got married and returned from her honeymoon,’ the friend adds.

‘Everyone’s been really shocked because it was so unexpected. It seems like extreme cost-cutting.’

Like Kate, Sophie, 32, is a St Andrews history of art graduate. She was put in charge of the Duchess’s personal assistants.

Sophie, who married insurance company director Stuart Hill, becomes the second prominent female aide to have left as soon as she tied the knot. The Duchess’s private secretary, Rebecca Deacon, quit in 2017.

Sophie has been regularly seen by Kate’s side and never objected to carrying out menial tasks. In 2016, she was spotted lugging William’s redand-blue suit cover bearing his cipher, as well as a large Longchamp pliage bag, during their tour of Bhutan. Palace sources explain that Sophie is a victim of the big break-up between Princes William and Harry.

The brothers and their wives had been expected to form a ‘Fab Four’, but that all changed soon after Meghan married into the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit Kensington Palace for a new home at Windsor, and their households have split, as well as their charitable foundations.

‘It is true that Sophie has left after seven years of service,’ a senior source confirms. ‘Her role has been made redundant as a result of the split of the households. ‘She will not be replaced.’ A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment. Sophie is similarly discreet.