The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have strengthened their American public relations team ahead of an expected expansion of their charitable work and Netflix projects.

Harry and Meghan have hired Christine Schirmer as their head of communications.

She previously held the same post with image-sharing and social media service Pinterest.

The couple launched the website for their charitable organisation Archewell in October, setting up a “landing page” for the venture with people invited to submit their email address to receive updates about “activities and initiatives”.

Their lucrative Netflix deal, rumoured to be worth more than £150 million, will see them produce a range of programmes and films for the streaming site.

The Sussexes have also set up a production company to make the programmes and it is likely they will appear in front of the cameras at some point.

A spokeswoman for the couple said: “The office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex expanded its existing communications team with the addition of Christine Schirmer as head of communications and Toya Holness as press secretary.

“The new hires joined the team in October and bring extensive communications experience from several different industries.

“They join James Holt, who serves as communications lead in the UK, and will continue to work with Sunshine Sachs, the duke and duchess’s international agency of record.

“Together, the group will oversee the communications strategy for Archewell, future production projects, and other personal ventures.”

The spokeswoman said Ms Schirmer also previously worked as corporate communications manager at Apple, while Ms Holness led communications at the New York City Department of Education.