The British royal family is looking for staff for their beloved – and recently raided – Windsor Castle, the royal residence located in the county of Berkshire, just forty kilometers from London. We are looking for a man or woman who can guarantee the maintenance of the fort under the best conditions. Whoever applies for this position (forty hours of work per week and twenty-five days off per year, not counting weekends), and manages to fill the vacancy will have to undertake the following responsibilities: the care of the works of art that comprise the historic building within its walls; organization of daily household chores; And cleaning every room in the castle. If the accounts are correct, its 48 x 24 meters are considered exclusive rooms for royalty only, fifty-two bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
© Getty ImagesIn return for this enormous amount of work (yes, in a heavenly and historic setting) a non-contributory pension plan is offered, a daily healthy lunch – the call requests that, in keeping with the sustainable principles promoted by Windsor, don’t waste food-; A psychological care service within the grounds of the palace, to protect the mental and emotional health of employees and a salary which, on this occasion, is not indicated in the job offer. However, based on previous calls, experts estimate that it could be around 26 thousand euros per year. In this sense, it is worth remembering an unusual event that happened almost a decade ago: in April 2015, the workers of Windsor Castle were condemned – or, at least, one hundred and twenty of the two hundred workers who work with everything with precision. of a watch – that his pay was below the “minimum decent standard of living” and threatened to go on strike. Currently, about five hundred people work at Windsor Castle since it has already become a tourist attraction, which can be visited for a moderate price of twenty-eight euros.
© Getty ImagesPalace thing
In 2015, the majority of trade unions promoted the basic salary received by workers at Windsor Castle, 18,720 euros per year. The British royal family had never before been involved in a conflict of this nature. Isabel II responded quickly, and although she did not negotiate with the union, she tried to reach a satisfactory agreement among all, according to a palace spokesman. Facing threats to workers, palace sources sought to clarify that “employees earn above the minimum wage and enjoy extra gifts, such as lunch.”
© Getty ImagesIn recent years, there have been many job offers to work in His Majesty’s service. In 2021, a vacancy was advertised for a security post at Buckingham Palace. The salary offered was under thirty thousand euros per year. Members of the Royal Guard, a royal institution and also a tourist, apparently earn around thirty-four thousand eight hundred euros a year, especially during their changing of the guard. For their part, as revealed in 2019, assistants in the royal stables receive a salary of about 27 thousand euros per year, which is more or less the same as the experienced chefs sought by the palace in 2020. who was asked to accompany the royal family on their official visits.
© Getty ImagesIt must be taken into account that the demand for personnel of the British royal family is constant. To gauge the above, it is sufficient to remember the number of Royal Palaces which are the property of the British Crown and which have the trust of the King – Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Holyrood Castle and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland –; and those inherited as private properties, such as Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House. Currently, about twelve hundred people work in His Majesty’s service, with different profiles and responsibilities: personal assistants, cooks, drivers, butlers, security members, information technology specialists, among other things, to take care of the archives. The latter, as far as salary is concerned, are the most fortunate, because, according to the latest job offer public, their salary can reach sixty thousand euros a year. In 2022, it was reported that King Charles III, in order to help his staff cope with high inflation, decided to pay his staff around seven hundred euros extra.
Specialty of Windsor Castle
Given all of the above, it seems reasonable that whoever will soon enter the service of the King at Windsor Castle will have a monthly salary of just over two thousand euros. His workplace could not be more glorious, but his salary could not be described as excessive.
© Getty ImagesIt must be fascinating to walk through the corridors of the fort and explore each room – beyond the rooms used by the royals, there are countless rooms that reach the astronomical number of thousands of rooms – and its architectural beauty and contemplation alone. Works of art adorn its walls. The origins of the castle date back to the 11th century, when the Normans came to England under the orders of William I the Conqueror. British kings have lived in this fort since the 12th century, so the history hidden within its walls is fascinating. Over the centuries, rooms and annexes have been added, such as the fabled St George’s Chapel from the 15th century, where Windsor has celebrated some significant family events in recent years – such as Harry and Meghan’s wedding. – and the sacred site where Elizabeth II is buried.
© Getty ImagesCaring for the castle’s artifacts is one of the available vacancies. This is no small task, quite the opposite. Only the most scrupulous and utterly faithful could carefully preserve works of art by artists such as Van Dyck, Durer, Canaletto or Rubens housed in the impressive State Apartments, or the world’s largest collection of manuscripts and drawings. By Leonardo da Vinci.
© Getty ImagesPaul ‘The Tall’ Forty Years in His Majesty’s Service
If not for the pay, but for a tempting sense of prestige or responsibility, the truth is that there are people who have worked for Windsor for decades. One of the most emblematic cases is that of Paul Whybrew, known as Paul El Alto, Elizabeth II’s chief butler for forty years, due to his six-foot-two height. The world knew him because he appeared with the sovereign in the funny cameo of Isabel II in the opening video of the 2012 Olympic Games, Carlos III entrusted him with a very delicate task: to determine which pieces of his beloved mother’s diary could be. And none could see the light of day, although their publication is questionable.
© Getty ImagesOnce you have seen the profile sought in the new job offer from Windsor and learned about the case of Paul Whybrough, one cannot help but remember some literary and cinematographic characters who represent, surprisingly, what they really search for English. royal family How can we not think of Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal in The Remains of the Day, directed by Jeremy Ivory and based on the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel? Mr. Stevens was the first butler of the aristocratic mansion Darlington Hall. There is no one like him to keep the rest of the staff in line and keep everything spotless. His white cotton gloves said it all, as did some of the film’s most iconic lines: “Dinner will be served at the usual time, and I’m happy to inform you that there will be no trace of what happened.” That’s the attitude the Windsors are looking for today. Absolute discretion and most British skill.
