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Who is Catherine Quinn, the Duchess of Cambridge's new private secretary?
Catherine Quinn is the Duchess of Cambridge's new private secretary
Eleanor Steafel
1 August 2017 • 12:55pm
The Duchess of Cambridge has appointed a high-flying new private secretary, poaching Catherine Quinn, currently chief operating officer at Oxford University's Said Business School to help build her public profile as she takes on more royal responsibilities.
Mrs Quinn will take up the role in October, effectively becoming the duchess's chief of staff, with her role involving running the 35 year-old's official programme and coordinating her charitable interests.
She will also be expected to support the duchess at public engagements, keeping her well informed on who she is due to meet - and presumably carrying the hundreds of flower bouquets and gifts that she's given every time she makes an appearance.
The Duchess of Cambridge with her current private secretary Rebecca Deacon Credit: Andrew Milligan
She will also be tasked with making statements, responding to letters and organising Catherine's diary - which is likely to become a great deal busier.
Mrs Quinn has an impressive CV, with many speculating that such a heavyweight appointment suggests the Duchess plans to carve out a more serious role for herself with her patronages and charity campaigning.
She has gradually stepped into the spotlight in the last few months, with punchy speeches about motherhood, confidence and mental health, and carried out her first solo overseas trip last year, visiting The Hague and Rotterdam.
The Duchess of Cambridge attending the launch of Maternal Mental Health Films Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley
Mrs Quinn - who previously held roles at the Wellcome Trust and the Middle Temple, as well as positions on the boards of the Charity Commission, Met Office, the Royal British Legion and the National Memorial Arboretum - will likely be able to help her build on this when she becomes her gatekeeper in the autumn.
Lancashire-born Mrs Quinn - a divorcee with a grown-up son - has an MBA from Oxford as well as degrees from other British and US universities, and spent several years working at Oxford, directing the university's Research Services and co-founding Oxford University Consulting, before joining the Wellcome Trust, the charitable healthcare foundation, where she led its grant-giving operations.
From there she moved to become chief executive of the Middle Temple, before finally joining Oxford Said Business School in 2006, where she said her aim was to transform "a rather unwieldy, old school" organisation into something more modern.
While it may not be unwieldy, you couldn't get a much more old school institution than the Royal Family, so her presence at Kensington Palace may well see a shift in the way the younger royals operate.
Both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been (not always fairly) slated for being "workshy", but with Prince William having left his job as an air ambulance pilot to become a full-time working royal in support of the Queen, 91 - and as Prince Philip, 95, retires from public duties this week - the duchess will surely want to step up.
Prince William, Prince George, the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte on their royal tour of Germany Credit: Samir Hussein
As well as gaining an MBA from the Said Business School (before she returned seven years later as chief operating officer), Mrs Quinn is also graduate of the school's Women Transforming Leadership course.
She has said: "I can vouch for the fact that when women come together, they can create incredibly powerful networks and start conversations that lead to positive change."
With a new recruit who has a strong vision for women, and a belief in starting conversations on the issues which effect us all, the duchess looks as if she is primed to start using her voice and position to make real change.
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