Friday, 27 Dec 2024

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appoint former BBC host to crucial position on royal team

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex today confirmed they had hired experienced journalist Kirsty Young as director. Ms Young, who has hosted Desert Island Discs and Crimewatch, will join the Sussex Foundation according to a document filed today on the Companies House website. As well as her presenting skills, Ms Young has great experience in charitable work, currently serving as president of Unicef UK. 

A spokesman for the Sussex Royal foundation told Express.co.uk: “I can confirm that Kirsty Young will be joining Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor, Steven Cooper and Karen Blackett OBE as a trustee of Sussex Royal.

“She has therefore been added to the filing of the CLG.

“As you know, Sussex Royal is formally due to launch in 2020, and we are looking forward to sharing more details in the coming months.”  

The Sussex Royal foundation was officially founded on July 1, after Prince Harry and Meghan split from The Royal Foundation, now formally known as The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Royal Foundation was set up in September 2009 by William and Harry to take forward their charitable ambitions.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, joined the foundation after marrying the princes, respectively in 2011 and 2018. 

Earlier this year Meghan and Harry announced their decision to leave their previous platform and set up their own charitable foundation.

Meghan and Harry wanted to pursue their own charitable interests, leading to a concrete division in responsibilities of the Cambridge and Sussex households.

The last addition to the Sussex Team follows the appointment of Stefan Paul Allesch-Taylor as a director on September 10 2019 and of Steven Martin Cooper, who also became a director on the same day.

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Mrs Young, who stepped down after two years as host of Desert Island Discs during the summer, saying she wanted to pursue new challenges, has previously spoken with admiration about the Duke and Duchess. 

The broadcaster spearheaded, along with Dermot O’Leary and Huw Edwards, the BBC’s coverage on May 19 2018 of Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding.

The journalist discussed the couple’s approach to the nuptials, saying their decision to have Meghan travelling with her mother Doria Ragland to St George’s Chapel was “an interesting change in protocol”.

She told RadioTimes: “It’s putting the mother of the bride at the centre. 

“The way they are organising it feels creative, it feels modern and contemporary. 

“They’re showing a rather different way of being royal.

“Of course you want them to be glamorous and special, but they’re doing that in a very modern way. 

“They are both in their 30s and have lived a life, which makes them much more typical of most couples these days – although of course they are entirely untypical in other ways.”

This interview took place before Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Snr, announced he could no longer attend the wedding because of heart-related problems.

The pair’s original plans would have seen Meghan and Doria arriving in the same car, with Mr Markle following them to then walk the bride down the aisle.     

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