The Princess of Wales’ right-hand woman: meet Assistant Private Secretary, Natalie Barrows

The name of this royal aide? Natalie Barrows, the Assistant Private Secretary to the Princess of Wales. It is believed that she has been in the post since 2017, and over the course of five years has become a trusted right-hand woman. 

Though little is known about Barrows’s private life, she is often spotted in the background of royal engagements. They will also, no doubt, bring an entourage with them on their approaching trip to Boston. For their trip to the Bahamas earlier this year, the couple reportedly travelled with 15 members of staff, including bodyguards and communications officers. 

In a role similar to the chief of staff, the assistant’s position is pivotal in assisting with the Prince and Princess of Wales’s schedules, co-ordinating diaries, organising travel arrangements and correspondence management. The job oversees organising official programmes and engagements as well as making sure Kate is briefed on who she will meet. At public events such as walkabouts, Barrows will always be a few metres from Kate, ready to step in at any moment to carry the flowers, cards and other tokens she might be handed by well-wishers.  Barrows will also be key on briefing the princess on any dignitaries she will be meeting. 

While the princess tends not to carry a bag at all, the assistant to the private secretary is more likely to be seen with a hold-all, packed with any…