The Swansea Woman Who Worked for the Queen

This is a paid advertorial on behalf of Kirstie Logan Communications.

Good morning, Swansea!

Imagine sitting in an Uplands taxi at 5:30 AM, clutching a hat box, and heading to London to work for the Queen.

That’s been the reality for Kirstie Logan-Townshend. After a career briefing cabinet ministers, rubbing shoulders with Elon Musk, Kamala Harris, and more, she’s finally bringing that world-class expertise home - launching Kirstie Logan Communications right here in Swansea.

We caught up with her to talk high-stakes crises, Gower horse riding, and what Queen Camilla is actually like...

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Growing up in Coventry performing at theatre school while watching her politician father command a room, Kirstie became acutely aware from an early age of the social injustices in the world - and how a rousing speech could move people to act. By sixteen, she was a political activist, before going on to study a Masters in Terrorism, Organised Crime and Global Security. Looking back, she sees a single thread connecting all of it.

At eighteen, Kirstie found herself alone in a constituency press office when national journalists started ringing off the hook over a major local issue - and instead of panicking, she felt something click.

“Rather than feeling frightened and scared, I was feeling this absolute pang of adrenaline and excitement in the midst of what really amounted to a crisis,” she recalls. “And I still get that surge every single day.”

During COVID, Kirstie arrived in Swansea to run the press office at the DVLA - and didn't take long to find herself in the deep end. Millions of people were waiting on delayed driving licences, and the agency was under intense scrutiny from national media and Westminster alike. She was running the press office, organising broadcast interviews, briefing ministers, the CEO, and the Secretary of State - all while keeping staff morale together.

“I seem to be fired up by the prospect of proving people wrong and defending things I care about,” explains Kirstie. “The harder it gets, the clearer my head gets - that just seems to be how my brain works.”

But Swansea and the DVLA were just the warm-up.

In 2023, Kirstie was appointed senior press officer for the UK's Global AI Safety Summit - the first serious international conversation about the frontier risks of artificial intelligence, held at Bletchley Park, the birthplace of modern computing.

Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, and Rishi Sunak were among those in attendance. Her job was to build public trust in the UK government's handling of AI in the lead-up to the event - and make sure it landed.

Her role began long before the summit itself - building public trust in the UK government's handling of AI through the rollout of Rishi Sunak's £100 million Foundation Model Task Force, which has since become the AI Safety Institute, and positioning the Minister for AI as the main government spokesperson on the issue. By the time the world's press descended on Bletchley Park, the groundwork had been laid.

“The press that came out of it said the AI summit actually delivered. And for a small, specialist team working in real time with the world watching — that really meant something,” says Kirstie.

From Bletchley Park, Kirstie was headhunted for what she describes as the biggest privilege of her career so far.

Kirstie was brought in to lead communications for Queen Camilla's charity - a book club started in lockdown that had grown into a global organisation reaching 12 million people across 180 countries.

Her job was to build the infrastructure to match that ambition, and to make the case that reading isn't just a nice hobby, but a public health intervention. The highlight came in 2024, when she launched neuroscientific research live on Good Morning Britain, proving that five minutes of reading could reduce stress levels by 19%.

And as for what Her Majesty is actually like? ”Incredibly warm,” says Kirstie. “She has this ability to walk into a room and make whoever she's talking to feel like the most important person in it. And she's very funny."

The role meant regular early starts as she travelled to London, but behind the royal glamour was a very relatable reality:

Those moments of reflection mean something deeper than they might appear. Kirstie lost her dad - her mentor and the person who first inspired her - at just 25, and rebuilt her career entirely alone from that point.

“When I'm on the way to something huge, I'm sitting there thinking, ‘You're doing all right, girl,’ she reflects. “You're a mum, you've got a great life. It's actually a moment of comfort as well.”

After Bletchley Park and Buckingham Palace, plenty of people would have stayed in London, but Kirstie had built roots in Swansea and had her own ambitions. “I realised I was building everybody else's story except my own,” says Kirstie. “I spent 15 years making organisations look good — it was time to back myself.”

She's now lived in Swansea for seven years, but always done the London commute - her daughter is in a Welsh school, her mum has moved down to be closer, and she rides horses on the Gower. And where work is concerned, the city isn't just home now, it's where Kirstie does her best thinking.

Kirstie still commutes to London twice a week, but despite having clients all across the country, her life is in Swansea and, she says, “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

So earlier this year, she took the leap - launching Kirstie Logan Communications in Uplands.

"I've done the corporate side, the government side, and the royal charity side," says Kirstie. "What Kirstie Logan Communications exists to do is work with people who are trying to really change something."

Kirstie’s first clients include campaigns working on revisions to the Employment Rights Act, and a podcast host who just delivered her first TEDx talk in Hamburg. Women, she says, just seem to find her.

“I've never really pitched for work with female campaigners - they just find me,” she says. “The common thread across all of my clients is that they're not selling a product, they're making an argument. And making an argument is what I do best.”

She's also got strong views on Swansea itself - and the story the city tells about itself.

And her five year vision for the consultancy? "I want to prove that you can build something nationally significant from Swansea," Kirstie says. "I'd love to have a proper outfit with brilliant people sourced locally, who share the same values as me. You don't have to be in London, and you don't have to choose between ambition and the life you actually want to live."

Kirstie Logan Communications is a Swansea-based strategic consultancy offering high-stakes media relations, reputation management, public affairs, and bespoke communications training.

Whether you're an organisation under scrutiny, a campaigner with a story to tell, or a leader who needs to land their message under pressure, Kirstie and her team bring government-grade strategic thinking to clients of every size. Find out more and get in touch at kirstielogancommunications.com.

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I’ll catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

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