bitchy | Princess Kate’s new ‘ballbuster’ private secretary quit before she even started work

Last December, we learned that the Princess of Wales’s private secretary had “quit” months beforehand. That private secretary was Hannah Cockburn-Logie, and she was with Kate starting in May 2020. She oversaw a lot of Kate’s Early Years busy-work. Kate then went without a private secretary for months, because (big surprise) she does f–k all and her staffers get unbelievably bored. Then, in February, there was suddenly a big push – Kate hired someone named Alison Corfield, who was then described as “loud” and a “ballbuster.” Corfield never started work in Kensington Palace. She opted to keep her job with Jamie Oliver. Ouch. Interestingly enough, the Telegraph got the exclusive on this, only they changed the headline after (presumably) a bitching out from Kensington Palace. The headline went from “Princess of Wales’s new private secretary rejects job, opting to stay with Jamie Oliver” to “Princess of Wales’s new private secretary rejects job to ‘stay under the radar’.” Guess Kate didn’t want to sound like she came up short compared to Jamie Oliver? Or maybe Kate doesn’t want to sound like she also can’t keep staff longer than a minute.

The “straight talking” PR guru hired as the Princess of Wales’s new private secretary has opted to stay with chef Jamie Oliver rather than take up the role, The Telegraph can reveal.

Alison Corfield, 51, is understood to have been uncomfortable with the prospect of having such a high-profile position and decided instead to remain under the radar.

The mother of three, a branding and marketing expert, has worked with Oliver for eight years. A source said: “She loves the work and is an integral member of the campaigning team. She decided she just wanted to keep her head down and get on with the job she knows so well in the background. She didn’t want the publicity that comes with working at that level for such a well-known institution.”

The decision means that Kensington Palace aides have had to return to the drawing board in their search for the ideal candidate who will play a large part in shaping the Princess’s role.

[From The Telegraph]

The bar is in hell: “Kensington Palace aides have had to return to the drawing board in their search for the ideal candidate who will play a large part in shaping the Princess’s role.” She’s 41 years old and she’s been married to William for almost twelve years. Kate shouldn’t need a staffer to “play a large part” in SHAPING her role. It should have already been “shaped” years ago. We heard, endlessly, for years and years that Kate was preparing to be Princess of Wales and queen consort, that she was so keen to finally do and be something and… nothing ever came of it. She’s Princess of Wales and she’s still dependent on hiring some private secretary who will – through sheer force of will? – suddenly make all of the lazy, incompetent pieces fit together.

Speaking of, Kensington Palace’s editing elves couldn’t make Kate sound like an educated, competent woman in her 40s discussing her life’s work. This is Kate speaking to Iceland Foods’ Richard Walker about “the science” behind Early Years. Walker even says, directly, that people are really struggling financially and Kate just breezes past that, like it would never f–king occur to her to use her position and use this time and effort to… help out struggling families. It’s insane. I have to ask again, and I know I’m a broken record about this, but Jesus H., you guys: how is she not embarrassed? Are palace staffers embarrassed about this?? I guess they are, because Alison Corfield took one look at this sh-tshow and noped out of there in a hurry.

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Cover Images.