In less than a week since King Charles III assumed the Crown of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, controversy has already sparked regarding the new King’s decisions. According to the Guardian, about 100 former employers of Charles in Clarence house were informed that their services were no longer required as the new monarch and his Queen consort are already moving into Buckingham Palace.
The employees received a letter last Monday during a thanksgiving service in honor of Queen Elizabeth at St. Giles Cathedral in Scotland. Among the hundred employees, many had been working for the former Prince of Wales for decades at Clarence House in London. Even when King Charles and Camilla have been moving their offices and household to Buckingham Palace since last Friday, the staff thought they would be transferring as well.
Among the staff that’s been noticed their dismissal were private secretaries, the communications team, household staff, and the finance office. According to the Guardian, a close source from the Firm declared that “all the staff had been working very hard since Thursday night to then find this. People are very upset.”
News spread fast and a member of the Service Trade Union deemed King Charles III’s decision as “nothing short of heartless.” As mentioned, Clarence House Staff was already aware that some changes would happen in the household and office; however, the “scale and speed at which this has been announced is callous in the extreme. Least of all because we do not know what staffing the incoming Prince of Wales and his family might need,” said Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union.
Now, although letters had been sent to employees, and after news broke out, it’s been said that some of the staff dismissed will be offered a chance to take new jobs within royal households. All this will be deliberated after Queen Elizabeth’s funeral next Monday, September 19th.
