Staff at Clarence House have been warned that their jobs are at risk following the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The 96-year-old monarch passed away peacefully at her Balmoral estate last Thursday (08.09.22) following a 70-year reign and now that her son King Charles has ascended to the throne, redundancies at the home shared by himself and wife Queen Consort Camilla are now "unavoidable" because of their change in roles.
A letter from the King's top aide Sir Clive Alderton, obtained by The Guardian, read: "The change in role for our principals will also mean change for our household … The portfolio of work previously undertaken in this household supporting the former Prince of Wales’s personal interests, former activities, and household operations will no longer be carried out, and the household … at Clarence House will be closed down. It is therefore expected that the need for the posts principally based at Clarence House, whose work supports these areas will no longer be needed."
"I appreciate that this is unsettling news and I wanted to let you know of the support that is available at this point."
While it has not been confirmed whether the King and Queen Consort - who have lived at Clarence House since they married in 2005 - will move into Her Late Majesty's former residence of Buckingham Palace in London, a spokesperson for the royal family explained that they are "urgently" trying to find other roles for their "loyal staff."
In a statement, the spokesperson said: "Following last week’s accession, the operations of the household of the former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have ceased and, as required by law, a consultation process has begun. Our staff have given long and loyal service and, while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for the greatest number of staff."
