A royal commentator has hit out at Prince Harry and Meghan's latest hire, claiming he will be "eaten alive"
Charlie Gipson and Kyle Boulia have joined the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as communications executives.
Gipson will be based in the UK and take on the role of Director of Communications, working as the main point of contact for UK press.
Gipson, 41, has launched “delicious new treats for Mars”, covered Crufts with Pedigree and once dressed up as Pudsey the Bear for Children In Need, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to Mail on Sunday's royal reporter Charlotte Griffiths he also once covered a Christmas tree with Furbies (a stuffed toy for children.)
Meghan and Harry have hired a UK PR expert
GettySpeaking to Ben Leo on GB News, Griffiths said: "Why have they appointed this guy who has no tabloid media experience?
"He's going to get eaten by the wolves. I think it's a surprise appointment and not in a good way."
She added: "Don't forget they've lost 17 people in six years. Not just in comms but all over. It's quite a high turnover of staff. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with Charlie Gipson."
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Ben asked her: "Have you spoken to him yet?"
She said: "I haven't spoken to him. I've got his mobile number and I'm preparing to call him.
"But one of my friends who does know him said, look, I just don't think he's going to last five minutes.
"Because of his background. He used to work for a company called Little Green PR and I think he is quite green. I think he is quite green with this kind of stuff.
"He did a campaign with Furbies, and they decorated a Christmas tree with Furbies. And apparently, he was once seen handing out Nando's vouchers as part of his earnest work promoting Nando's."
Charlie Gipson will be handling media related queries in the UK for the duke and duchess
GB News/ LinkedIn
She later emphasised: "If he's going to be the point of contact for the whole of the UK tabloid press, he's going to get eaten alive.
"And as one of my friends put it, he's not going to last five minutes. He might be number 18, but let's give him a chance. It's day one."
Harry and Meghan have had a relatively high turnover with their communications advisers, with notable departures including Christine Schirmer, who stepped down as Head of Communications but was kept as an adviser.
The couple also pivoted on their initial refusal to deal with the British tabloids.
Charlotte Griffiths said that he won't last five minutes
GB News
Their current team instead recognises it is more conducive to keep open lines of communication.
The duke and duchess opted not to keep any UK-based staff when they moved abroad in January 2020, instead building a team in California.
They employed former Palace staff Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy on a freelance basis to work on charity projects in the UK.
However, the continued interest in the couple in the UK prompted their advisers to search for a UK-based PR team to better deal with queries in another time zone.