Staff of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 1: Ending Sep 2022


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Zonk

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Welcome to the thread to discuss the Staff of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Please note that all posts relating to the Current Events of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge should be posted in the appropriate thread.

Thanks!

Warren, wbenson and Zonk
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I wish I could apply! I have a lot of clerical experience, I can do laundry, and I have nursing training, which would come in handy if anyone ever passed out! Le siiiigh.
 
The use of the word "skivvy" in the headline is a disgrace. Camilla Tominey is moving into KAtie Nicholls territory.
 
:previous: Well over here (Canada) skivvies is slang for underwear. So the headline reads as if William and Kate were getting some sort of super underwear. :lol:
 
http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/389251/Prince-Harry-appoints-former-Army-officer-as-his-very-own-private-secretary
Prince Harry appoints new personal secretary - hellomagazine.com
https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/me...intment-of-new-private-secretary-prince-harry

4 April 2013

Household of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry:
restructuring of the senior roles now complete

Prince Harry has brought in a private secretary to help him manage his affairs. Clarence House have announced the appointment of Mr Edward Lane Fox, a former officer in the Blues and Royals who will assist the Prince as a trusted advisor. Harry himself will have chosen Mr Lane Fox as his right hand man. Both have proudly served for the Blues and Royals, and as a military man, Edward will understand perfectly Harry's commitment to his career in the army.

Harry is the last of the royal trio to appoint a private secretary. Last year it was announced that there had been a reshuffle, with both Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton employing private secretaries of their own.

The Duke of Cambridge is now assisted by Miguel Head, a former press secretary to William,Harry and Kate, who joined the Princes' private office in 2009. The Duchess of Cambridge meanwhile is supported by Rebecca Deacon, her former trusted personal assistant. That move was described as an "evolutionary step" in the development of the royal household.

Overseeing everything behind the scenes is Mr Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, principle private secretary and equerry to the young royals. He has been with the Princes since 2005, and is credited with masterminding their rise from shy young men into respected public figures. The former SAS officer is so close to the Wales men, that his son William was a page boy at the royal wedding.

The trio also have the wisdom and experience of Sir David Manning to lean on. A former British ambassador to the US, he became an advisor to William and Harry at the request of the Queen then they formed their private office in 2009, and was the man the family turned to before the royal wedding to give Kate 'advice and mentoring' on her new role.
 
Gordon Rayner ‏@gordonrayner 22m
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's right-hand man, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, to step down in the autumn

Gordon Rayner ‏@gordonrayner 21m
Lowther-Pinkerton, principal private secretary to William, Kate and Harry, has worked for them for eight years.
 
Nice to know that he will still be around though. William & Catherine and Harry have been working with Jamie for some time and I'm sure they will miss him as a full-time senior member of their staff.
 
For the record...
Telegraph UK
3 May 2013

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, principal private secretary to William, Kate & Harry, to step down in September

The number of courtiers at St James’s Palace is about to be reduced after Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the ex-SAS officer who has been a steady presence at William and Harry’s side for the past eight years, told them he has decided to step down. Mr Lowther-Pinkerton, principal private secretary to William, Kate and Harry, will be missed by the Duke and Duchess, to whom he is such a close friend that his son William was a pageboy at their wedding. But remarkably, only one member of the Royal Household works solely for her. Rebecca Deacon, her private secretary, is always by her side when she is out in public.

The truth is that, in common with every other family in the country, the most important members of the Duchess’s “team” are not paid at all. Her family are her greatest source of strength and advice; it just happens that in her case, “family” happens to include such wise counsel as the Queen.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the royal couple’s principal private secretary, intends to leave his post in September. Mr Lowther-Pinkerton, 52, a former SAS major, is the most senior of their 12 full-time staff and has helped plan everything from the royal wedding to their overseas tours. He is also principal private secretary to Prince Harry. Mr Lowther-Pinkerton was one of three royal aides whose mobile phones were hacked by the News of the World in 2005, triggering the hacking scandal that is yet to run its course. He plans to take up consultancy roles in the private sector, but intends to spend one day a week at St James’s Palace to advise the younger members of staff who will take his place.

His role will be divided between three individual private secretaries: Miguel Head, 35, for the Duke, Rebecca Deacon, 30, for the Duchess, and Edward Lane Fox, 36, for Prince Harry.

A royal source said Mr Lowther-Pinkerton’s departure had been “on the cards for months. It’s a big shift for the Household and is the last part of the restructuring of staff.” Eton-educated Mr Lowther-Pinkerton, who served as equerry to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother from 1984-86, was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2013 New Year Honours and lives in Suffolk with his wife and four children.
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I was reading the article about the duties of the housekeeper...surely she will have staff to assist?


LaRae
 
I would say so. But first of all she needs to understand about the property and how the Cambridge's want to utilise the space. It might be that they want to have reception rooms put aside for royal engagements or perhaps they don't want to do that at all. She will work with Catherine on that and then she will appoint staff to work with her, probably p/t to start with.

So exciting for her!
 
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What lovely news!

Does anyone, too, remembers how often Diana took her boys to the San Lorenzo restaurant where she had befriended the owneress? Suely William has fond memories of Italian dishes cooked there for him to comfort the little family in times when the marriage of his parents was on the rocks and Diana confided in her friend. Probably he looks very much forward to be served homemade Italian food on evenings he spends with his wife quietly at home...

And it's good that the new housekeeper comes from the BP staff. I recall to have read somewhere (maybe in one of the Burrell-books) of how staff would be lent to other Royal households for special events, so the new housekeeper surely can cope with that. Okay, she has to adapt her life to the needs of her employers: cook in the evenings when they are at home but having the evenings off when they are going out. Cleaning the kitchen and bedrooms when W&C are not at home. Or supervising the cleaner once a week. Just like the way Paul Burrelll cared for Diana - he had additional help as well when needed. Plus she can help Catherine during the time between birth and move to KP Nr.1, so they don't need a nanny while they don't have a nursery.

Doesn't Catherine enjoy speaking Italian? I think I recall she spent her gap year in Italy, surely has fond memories of her time there.

it seems from the outside they made a good choice with a lot of comfort zone-character to it.... I just say: homebaked Italian bread with rosemary... Or good espresso...
 
Public appearances are bloody hard work are they? Who knew.
 
Do you do many? I would imagine quite a bit of preparation behind the scenes goes into the event by the royals. I doubt they just show up on the fly.

Of course they don't show up on the fly, they have to be invited. Preparation is done by everyone else, unless a speech is required and if that's not edited accordingly I'd be surprised. Royals show up, shake hands, walk around, pose for pictures and leave. Have I missed anything?
 
I think it might have been meant in an ironic way-like saying "I buy myself an Aston Martin because I am such a poor soul and I don´t have anything else in life that makes me happy".
It is very tricky and difficult to transform irony/sarcasm into a written text, often it seems very rude or unfriendly and the reader does not know that it was only intended as a silly joke!

I do not think that public work like the royals have to do it all the time is easy-in fact,for me it would be difficult to look friendly and smile all the time even when people take pictures and ask silly questions;-)
Good lord, I am glad I am not a Princess - because I could not live the way that Catherine does, all the media attention and constant interest in my personal life would make me go insane...
 
Of course it is stressful to go to a place full of people focused on YOU, who will remember this event their whole life, when to you it is one of a lifetime of fleeting encounters of a similar nature. The pressure to meet expectations must be immense, all the while in the presence of endless cameras & journalists from around the world.

I would have thought that was obvious to anyone with even a modicum of sensibility.
 
Exactly. I actually consider their public engagements to be very hard work- and I know I couldn't do it.
 
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Public appearances are bloody hard work are they? Who knew.

I've had to do them. Say a few words publically, open an event and then do "small talk" - and that consists of talking about the event, the background, the raising of the money, who supported it, how long it took, etc.

IT was expected that I knew all about it. So I prepared.

I found walking into a room of people and doing small talk a scary as standing up and talking to 500 people. At least with that, I knew which slide was coming next!

You are just so scathing at times Lumutqueen. My opinion is based on experience and I say they are difficult.

PS: I didn't have to do it in front of the world's media; have every detail of my clothes, hair, make up analysed and then have the press ask everyone I spoke to how I did.

You, know I think that makes it worse.

And we are off topic - sorry.
 
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I suppose it does depend on your idea of "hard work", they aren't back breaking hard physical labour but they are probably mentally tiring.
Anyway...back to TRHs staff. I wonder if we'll notice any subtle changes when Jamie Lowther Pinkerton leaves, he's been William's go to man for so long.
 
I have also talked to a large number of people and worked as a model for half a year to finance my studies,but nobody is interested in my private life and I do not have to be careful to represent a nation or a Royal family that is expected to be perfect,polished and super glamourous all the time.

I could not do what Catherine is doing-the CONSTANT interest and picking on me for all kind of reasons (especially the lazy-Kate stuff,the topless pictures and the mean comments on her and her family) would have been too much for me. I have enormous respect for what they do,the BRF is probably the most prestigious,well-known family in the world and nobody gets more media attention than they do.
This prospect seems to me to be pretty horrible & daunting,especially for a woman who did not grow up with the press-but the Duchess has proven to be a strong,dutiful woman with enormous energy and good spirit. She does not give up or say bad things when she gets unfair critisism or rude attacks by haters- this,most of all, is why I adore her so much!

I believe that her staff and her advisors have helped her a lot to adjust to her situation and new role,I think it is very important they hire good people,especially that they hire people they can trust 100%. Loyalty and trustworthiness are more important than any other skill in this job IMO.
 
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On topic - I'm sure the staff of the DOCAs are very happy they've got their jobs but a recent Jubilee program said something along the lines of 'working for royals is no longer a life long commitment, it's used as a stepping stone'.
 
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It is ok to have different opinions-for some people who are naturally extroverted this public work might seem like a "light" job, and it is certainly not labour-intensive. However,the mental stress is very high! Of course,we can not compare this job to what surgeons or scientists do, each job/position has their positive and negative sides.
It is important to find something you are good at,something that suits your personality and skills.
The people who work for the Duchess and Duke must have some affinity for their job and also have sympathy for the RF,otherwise I think it is not very satisfying-I believe that the people who work in the Royal household have very hard work and have to live up to high expectations! Imagine,if the Duchess wears something completely wrong,or if the cook prepares the food badly and they end up in hospital etc.-all this is quite stressful and requires a lot of knowledge and experience!
 
Imagine,if the Duchess wears something completely wrong,or if the cook prepares the food badly and they end up in hospital etc.-all this is quite stressful and requires a lot of knowledge and experience!

Any designer or any chef has (I'm hoping) the same high expectations. Not to kill someone or make them look foolish in a silly dress. The designer part I'm not 100% on because some pieces are down right nonsense ;)

I imagine the staff of the DOCAs are doing their jobs because they like them and would be doing them whether they worked for royalty or not, working for the future king just looks good on the CV.
 
Plus always having to be aware of what is going on around you, not to mention standing for long periods of time and keeping good posture. I know for a fact that is tiring. I used to work in a store and even on days when we were not busy we had to stand all the time. VERY tiring.
 
I think it is quite obvious that any job can be tiring from time to time - but royal staff are there to ensure that events go smoothly and that the royal in question is fed, watered, clothed, prepared, informed, picked up, dropped off and debriefed. Royal staff are not there to wipe hot brows and give sympathy for tired feet because being a royal is manageable mentally physically and emotionally on a day to day basis and if done properly there will be no hot brows or tired feet!
For normal folk without a proper support network behind the scenes of-course it's a continual struggle to carry out duties and engagements and go to work and dress up and down and look great all the time.
The more staff the merrier I say!
 
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