Buckingham Palace is swarming with staff as the workforce aim to keep the monarch content and keep the operation of one of Britain’s most famous buildings working smoothly.
King Charles, having taken over as head of state after the death of his mother, the Queen, on September 8, will now have those employees at his beck and call.
When he was Prince of Wales — Charles’ title before becoming sovereign — the 73-year-old had his own pool of household staff to deploy.
But since his accession, some of those staff may not have a job for much longer, reports have suggested.
How many staff does King Charles have?
Before her passing, the Queen employed 491 full-time staff, according to the most recent sovereign grant report.
It is expected King Charles III will inherit these staff — although changes are said to be in the pipeline.
The Guardian reported that up to 20 of Elizabeth II’s royal staff who provided personal services to the late monarch have been told their jobs could be at risk under changes being brought in to accommodate the new King.
Those who could be impacted include some of the all-female dressers responsible for the 96-year-old’s iconic outfits and the staff who helped the monarch move between the royal palaces.
According to the Prince of Wales website, Charles employed 116 official staff before coming to the throne.
Staff supporting the King, who have been working round the clock to smooth his transition to sovereign, were stunned to be handed redundancy notices only days after the Queen's death, reports have said.
The Guardian said up to 100 staff members at Clarence House, where the former Duke and Duchess of Cornwall lived before the Queen's passing, were reportedly given redundancy notices.
Those believed to be impacted are said to be private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team and household staff.
Personal servants such as footmen, valets, dressers and cooks were among those to also be served with warnings their jobs could be axed.
It is unknown if the move is part of a wider ambition to slim down the monarchy, with King Charles said to be intent on reforming how the royal family operates and cutting costs.
What jobs do staff do in the royal household?
King Charles has 28 members of household staff, including four chefs, five house managers, three valets and dressers, and a couple of butlers.
There are other roles on the royal estates, including Liveried Helper — someone to help look after horses — and IT experts to take care of the royal archives and sensitive information systems.
How much are royal employees paid?
Those who work for the Royals were given a 5% pay rise in June, according to the Express.
At the time, reports said Her Majesty agreed to the rise in a bid to help them through the cost of living crisis.
Pay at the palaces has been a controversial topic over the years. Ryan Parry was a Daily Mirror reporter who managed to use fake references to secure a footman job at Buckingham Palace in 2003.
He was on a £11,881 salary and derided the pay as “pitiful” — and it does not appear to have got vastly better in the past 20 years.
Analysis from Insider found 503 jobs at the royal household with pay rates advertised between 2015 and 2021.
Ten of these positions advertised salaries starting below the living wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.
A further 274 positions advertised pay within pennies of that rate.
Former employees and union reps told Insider that workers "tolerate the low pay" due to their "immense pride in working for the monarchy".
Last year, The Mirror reported the hourly wage for the palace's security was roughly £12.80 an hour.
In 2019, a vacancy for a Liveried Helper was advertised with a salary of £22,400 per year. Buckingham Palace also advertised for a trainee butler role with an £18,850 salary in 2017.
Charles’ unusual demands to staff
Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's former butler, gave a candid interview in which he claimed the now-king is very particular about how he likes things done.
In the video, which has re-emerged online, Mr Burrell lists a number of unusual demands Charles is said to have made during the two decades he worked for the royal family.
It included the then-prince stipulating exactly how much toothpaste he wanted on his toothbrush each morning.
Mr Burrell said: “Everything is done for him. His pyjamas are pressed every morning so that they don't have creases in them. His shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron.
"His underwear is folded in a certain way. The bath towel has to be placed in a certain fashion, the bath plug has to be in a certain position.
“The water temperature has to be just tepid, and only half full.
"[King] Charles does have his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning. If anyone gets anything wrong, everyone is scolded."
The 64-year-old former employee also recalled how Charles once accidentally dropped a letter in a wastepaper basket under his desk.
Rather than reach down for it, Charles called his butler over to pick it out of the bin.
