Published: Just now
Prince Charles has become king, and was met with the love of the people. But behind the scenes things are blowing up after warnings of redundancies.
King Charles III was formally announced on Saturday. In front of television cameras and more than 200 potentates, the king promised to follow his mother Queen Elizabeth’s “inspiring example”.
The ceremony was followed by salutes and celebrations – but not everyone was equally happy.
101 employees in the former residence of Prince Charles, Clarence House, were told in the middle of the announcement that just under a hundred of them will lose their jobs, The Guardian reports.
Many employees, who for decades worked under the prince and expected to be moved to Buckingham Palace, must instead look for new jobs.
“Everyone here has been working late into the night every day since Thursday just to be met with this. People are visibly shaken,” says one of the employees to the newspaper.
Decisions on exactly how many are allowed to leave the court – and who are affected – are only made after the queen’s funeral. Those who are dismissed will be helped to find new employment in other parts of the court and will be offered severance pay “above the minimum level”.
According to The Times, Buckingham Palace employees have written into their employment contracts that they are guaranteed employment for at least six months after the monarch’s death.
According to British media, Queen Elizabeth had 491 employees, but it is unclear how many of these will be allowed to stay within the court, and also how much staff will be needed at the residences the queen used more than Charles is believed to do, among them Windsor and Sandringham.
The new king has also not decided whether he and Queen consort Camilla will live at Buckingham Palace.