bitchy | Jobson: Queen Camilla is in charge of culling & merging Charles’s staff

Robert Jobson’s new book, Our King, is heavily – but not exclusively – sourced from the court of King Charles. Jobson is clearly a “Charles and Camilla” rota rat, but in reading through the one million excerpts of the book, I’ve been shocked by how many stories are straight from Prince Harry’s Spare, only with a horsey royal twist. I’m also left with the impression that Camilla is absolutely in charge, and that she’s been waiting to put her mark on everything. These are some miscellaneous excerpts I found interesting, including Charles suddenly realizing that he needs to sound close to Prince William’s children and not just Camilla’s grandchildren.

Top-heavy royal staff: As it stands, his Clarence House staff have been merged with the veritable army of the late Queen’s household – which, according to insiders, he and the Queen Consort have noted is ‘top-heavy’. Some of Her late Majesty’s team are already finding the King’s way of doing things challenging. ‘When he says he wants something done, he expects it to be acted on immediately,’ said one insider. ‘Those who worked for the late Queen are finding that when they say “But that’s how we have always done it”, it won’t wash.’

Camilla is in charge: With so many new responsibilities, Charles has turned to Camilla to start the ball rolling over the staff merger, and she has already begun making subtle changes. There were raised eyebrows, say informed sources, when the Master of the King’s Household, Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt – who runs below-stairs operations – produced a ‘mission statement’ for staff. Every worker was handed a document that read: One Team, One Standard. ‘It makes working for the Royal Household very corporate, like a hotel,’ one aide complained.

William’s streamlined team: William, too, has already started streamlining his own team, saying that as heir to the throne, he will ultimately employ far fewer people on his staff.

Charles & Camilla are still living in Clarence House: For now, Charles and Camilla continue to live at Clarence House, though the King commutes most days to his offices at Buckingham Palace. Eventually, he hopes to turn the residence of British sovereigns since 1837 into more of a ‘people’s palace’. Neither Charles nor Camilla is in any rush to move in permanently.

Charles’s grandchildren: On the personal front, Charles dotes on William’s children, who call him Grandpa Wales, and an aide confirms they ‘absolutely adore’ him. When he reads to them, doing the voices of all the characters, he has them spellbound; they particularly enjoy Harry Potter books. Prince Louis, who will be five later this month, has formed a particularly close bond with his Grandpa Wales.

Charlotte’s future titles: Sensitive to the fact that nine-year-old Prince George’s future is already mapped out, Charles has been careful to reserve one of the grandest titles for Princess Charlotte – currently called Lottie by her mother and Mignonette (French for cute little thing) by her father. Although the King has made his brother Edward the new Duke of Edinburgh, the title is only for life. After Edward dies, Charles has made it clear Charlotte (now aged seven) should become Duchess of Edinburgh.

[From The Daily Mail]

“When he reads to them, doing the voices of all the characters, he has them spellbound; they particularly enjoy Harry Potter books” – we heard almost the exact thing about Charles reading to Camilla’s grandchildren. My guess is that none of it is true – I doubt Charles spends much time with Cam’s grandkids, nor his own. He doesn’t “dote” on anyone but Camilla. As for Charlotte’s nicknames… I believe Kate probably calls her “Lottie” (which is, imo, a cute nickname) but I do not believe William calls her Mignonette.

Incidentally, I’ve been surprised by how little we’ve heard about disgruntled royal staffers or mass firings. In Charles’s first six months on the throne, I don’t think he’s fired many people at all. I think he literally has two sets of staff now – his old PoW staff and his mother’s staff. I also doubt that William will streamline his office whatsoever.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.