The Prince and Princess of Wales are officially on the hunt for a new staff member, and to the surprise of no one they require a specific set of skills.
According to The Household of TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales' official website, Prince William and Princess Kate are hiring a new assistant private secretary to join their staff at Kensington Palace.
"This role requires excellent communication and organizational skills, with a proven ability to build productive relationships with a wide range of individuals and institutions," the job description notes. "You will have a proactive, hands-on approach while operating in a small and agile team, and a strong understanding of Welsh communities, affairs, government, and business. Conversational Welsh is essential, and fluent Welsh, both written and spoken, is desirable."
In other words, if you can't speak Welsh—so sad, too bad.
According to the job description, the assistant private secretary is responsible for "planning and delivering for most of the RH’s public engagements in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland," and in addition to contributing to "the development of the Household's strategy to maximize impact across the constituent nations of the UK, with a particular focus on Wales."
While the listing does not include a salary range, it does clarify that the role is "permanent" and calls for a total of 37.5 hours of work per week.
According to Simon Morgan—the founder of global security company Trojan Consultancy, who served as a Royal Protection Officer from 2006 to 2013—working for the royal family is nothing short of demanding.
"There is quite a rigid process to go through," Morgan told Town&Country in a 2019 interview. "You start with a written application that goes through to the royalty protection unit, and then, if you pass that element and have all the evidence and skills required around leadership and decision making, you’ll be invited to an interview led by senior protection officers to see who the person is behind the application."
Grant Harrold—who worked as a butler to then-Prince Charles and Camilla from 2004 to 2011—says that as a result of his job he "learned very quickly how to address a royal when meeting with them."
"These guidelines are even shown on the British royal family website, if anyone wants to know the correct way," Harrold told Town& Country. "I still think that being polite and yourself normally helps in any situation."
Earlier this year, Kensington Palace was in need of a new communications director, and after the now notorious, doctored photo of Princess Kate and her three children was posted in honor of Mother's Day in the U.K. in the wake of her mysterious hospitalization.
The photo, which was taken down by many prominent news outlets after it failed to meet editorial standards, sparked instant backlash, online speculation and a slew of conspiracy theories regarding the royal's health, wellness and the state of her marriage.
Eventually, Princess Kate revealed that she has been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer and is currently undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatments.
