Prince William faces major blow as his private secretary quits in wake of CEO hire
Prince William is parting company with his Private Secretary, Jean-Christophe Gray, as he tries to finalise a new key hire to bolster his staff.
Prince William and Princess Kate are looking for a new CEO (Image: Getty)
Prince William will be parting ways with his private secretary, Jean-Christophe Gray, as the royal prepares to bolster his household with a new CEO.
Jean-Christophe Gray is said to be on secondment from Whitehall and will leave the palace in spring 2024, the Sunday Times reported.
Gray was hired by William and Kate in 2021 but has previously worked as a Treasury employee.
The Oxford and London School of Economics graduate was David Cameron’s official spokesperson from 2012 to 2015 but has also worked for chancellors of the exchequer including Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Rishi Sunak.
The 47-year-old is reported to have given key advice to the heir to the throne in his transition to Prince of Wales.
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Prince William and Princess Kate’s move to hire a new CEO is seen as quite the change (Image: Getty)
Royal sources admitted that he always intended to return to Whitehall.
It comes as Prince William and Princess Kate placed an online advert in September looking for an “emotionally intelligent” chief executive officer with a “low ego” to run their household.
The ad stated the new CEO will report directly to the royal couple – instead of the private secretary.
It added a successful candidate must be “able to operate as a ‘servant’ leader, empowering the senior team”.
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Jean-Christophe Gray was hired by Prince William and Princess Kate in 2021 (Image: Getty)
However after the ad was published, employment experts warned the royal couple that a claim for discrimination can be brought by job applicants as well as by employees.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s move is seen as quite the change in the royal household as up until now a senior royal’s team was headed up by a Private Secretary.
A source told the Times: “Having a CEO placed above you isn’t an optimal job scenario if you are JC and your title is no longer head of the household.”
