Princess Mills

Senior Press Officer, Transport for London

Princess is a proud south Londoner who has worked in communications from a young age, including a placement at the Commission for Racial Equality Press Office aged 15. She later went on to intern for European Pensions & Investments News (part of Financial Times Business) and worked on the European Football Desk at PA while at university studying French and English Literature. Princess also volunteered for anti-racism charity Love Music Hate Racism in the press and publicity team.

Since 2008, she has worked at Transport for London (TfL) in various communications roles, including for Dial-a-Ride where she raised its profile and simultaneously helped disabled Londoners with assisted journeys.

She joined the Press Office in 2019 and has worked on several high-profile issues including the launch of the Elizabeth line and London’s e-scooter scheme. She also played a key role in crisis communications during the pandemic under the huge scrutiny on public transport. She has delivered the media and PR campaign for London’s air quality measures such as ULEZ and the Congestion Charge, and currently leads on a range of briefs such as TfL’s property arm, Places for London, TfL’s advertising estate, intellectual property and skills and apprenticeships.

In 2024, she was recognised in the BME Pros Awards as a highly commended Public Sector Pro and has taken a role in supporting interns from their interviews on TfL’s Stuart Ross Communications Internship through to them rolling off the scheme and going on to careers across the industry.

Describe yourself/your background in 5 words max?
South Londoner – usually talking or baking!

How did you get into PR/communications?
Back when I was 15, I was meant to go to a local estate agents for work experience, but in a last minute change as they could no longer host me, my PE teacher who was also the teacher in charge of work experience placements asked if I fancied going somewhere where I could get to see how journalists work – having imagined myself one day writing for Marie Claire, I was thrilled!

I went to the press office for what was then the Commission for Racial Equality – absolutely loved it and they asked me to return – my career in comms had begun! I’m not sure I knew PR existed before then but I was hooked.

What do you love about your job?
Everyone gets on public transport at some point in life, and I love that my role has me talking to people from all walks of life, I can go from talking to staff on a gateline to the most senior people at TfL and our partners in a matter of moments. I get to find out more about them, their lives and why they’re just as passionate about helping London continue to be the brilliant city it is, as I am. I get to shout about all the good we’re doing, and get to see things behind the scenes many would love to see.

Working in public sector comms, we’re often working with a tight, or often no budget but I’m proud to say at TfL we’re always trying to do the best for the city we serve (which just happens to be the city I was born in and proud to call home).

What are you most proud of?
I’ve made croissants at home, twice! I always loved them, especially when I could get them from a local bakery on my way to the tram when I lived in Lille, but never thought I’d be able to make them myself. I love to bake and while I’m known in the office for bringing in cakes every now and then, breads and pastries are a rarity. My first batch of croissants were a three-day lockdown project and I loved it, I’ve done it once again since, just need to have the time to do them more often.

What’s been the hardest lesson to learn?
Being independent’s great and all, but asking for help is not a weakness. I grew up in a loving single parent home, and now I’m the one looking out for Mum. Long story short, life growing up was pretty much always Mum and I against the world, so I learnt to do things for myself. Something needs fixing, doing, sorting etc? Leave it with me I’ll get it done – I’m not asking for help I can do it. Then in 2009/10 I was unwell so I couldn’t keep on being the fiercely independent person and felt I’d failed. Realising I can tell people what’s going on and letting people in took a long time to learn, but I got there eventually and I’m all the better for it.

Who are your favourite people in PR and why?
My PR network is very small (but growing!) but I’ve been lucky enough to have been mentored through the Women in PR scheme by Kamiqua Lake – a pioneer! From her own varied career in PR, she’s founded her own consultancy and the UK Black Comms Network and still makes time for so much more pushing the industry forward. I first came across her on LinkedIn and later saw her on the a panel talking about what AI means for the PR industry so I was delighted to be paired with her and learnt so much about what’s out there, so many opportunities and so much more to learn.

What skill do you think every PR/comms person has to nail?
Adaptability with a smile (if possible and appropriate)! Things can change in a heartbeat, maybe there’s some sudden external reason why a release or post can’t go out just as yet, maybe something’s happened at an event with journalists watching your every move meaning you’ve got to make some quick decisions and act like nothing’s wrong – most comms people have some story of a disaster they’ve had to fix!

What is your favourite social network and why?
Once upon a time it would have been Instagram, however TikTok has beaten it for me now. I reluctantly joined in late 2019 as a family friend’s daughter wanted me to like her dance videos, but now I’m amazed by the creativity on there and it’s become really easy for me to find and follow French creators to try and keep my French language skills up!

What’s your favourite podcast and why?
I’ve not gotten into podcasts as my mind tends to wander when listening to them – I start and then pick up a book or start doomscrolling but happy to get recommendations!

Who is your favourite journalist and why?
Sally – www.instagram.com/sally – I think she started off when she was a law student making videos about black hair and explaining what was going on in the news in France, but her platform has grown and she’s has since interviewed Nobel Prize winners, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (to name just a few), while still making videos informing about current affairs and what’s important to her. She’s now a qualified lawyer, but has moved into journalism and into making documentaries – just releasing one about her travels in Benin. Her posts and videos range from celebrity interviews to talking about what’s going on in the world, notably in French speaking countries across the world, particularly those in Africa and the Caribbean.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
It’s a little basic, but trust your instincts. I know I’m one of many who’d second guess themselves, worrying that I’m not doing the right thing and checking in with someone else to make sure I’m on the right path. While I’d tend to trust my gut in my personal life, being in such a public facing organisation I’d always worry that professionally, I might not be doing the right thing that would cause us some kind of headache further down the line – but I’ve learnt to trust my gut – speak up when I think something’s wrong or if we should go in a different direction. The worst I’ll be told is ‘no’, which I don’t need to be scared of, it’s better to share your thoughts now, than regret it later!

Biggest PR campaign fail and yay of 2023 so far?
A campaign I hated – it has to be the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney “great genes” debacle. Maybe in a different, less politically and socially fraught time the ad would have passed with a few eyebrows raised and a little social media criticism, however, and even if it was planned months before it reached screens across the world it was so tone deaf. Conversely, I loved Gap’s Better in Denim campaign showed multicultural, multiethnic group Katseye wearing their denim. Their campaign clearly wasn’t planned to go out so soon after American Eagle, but the timing couldn’t have worked better for them. While I could argue they could have gone further with the diversity of the models and performers in the campaign, it still showed Gap as promoting their jeans for everyone – something American Eagle severely, and seemingly consciously, lacked.

Finally, on the D’ word… What can the sector do to encourage diversity?
Make your leaders create more paths for people to get to work in comms careers and, crucially, publicise them well. It’s only while helping out with our own great comms internship programme at TfL that I’ve found out about wonderful schemes available elsewhere, some of which would have existed when I graduated, but didn’t have a clue they were a thing. It’s definitely less of an issue now with social media getting the word out – Facebook, MySpace and Bebo etc were not being used by recruiters back when I was looking – but I can’t help but think that back in the mid 2000s when I was at uni in Hull, all these great schemes weren’t really advertised outside of London and there’s so much talent to be found outside of the M25.

It’s simple, talk to people from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds – find out what they’re listening to, watching, reading and get involved, find them, encourage them, employ them and your company will likely be all the better for it.

Connect with Princess on LinkedIn