At first, the idea of living in a palace together with royals seems like a fairytale. However, the Royal Staff wouldn’t actually agree with us. Even though they see it as an honor, the hardship and the weird rules that they have to follow will sound unreal to most of us.
We, at Bright Side, were astounded when we found out about the many rules that the Royals have set for their staff, but we are sharing with you the strangest ones. You will even learn about the test you have to pass to get hired by the Royal Palace.
1. Cleaning the floors
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Before 10 a.m. in the palace, the staff mustn’t use a vacuum cleaner to clean the carpets. So, instead, they usually sweep them clean. This rule is to be followed so that the staff members won’t wake up the royals too early.
2. Walking on carpets
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Walking on in the center of the carpet is not allowed, only the royals can do this. The staff must walk only on the sides in the hallways, and not in the middle. This is to preserve the carpet and to not leave any unnecessary footprints.
3. Serving coffee
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Royals have perks and one of them is drinking coffee that has been served in a silver jug. One maid is in charge of pouring the coffee from a hot plate into the actual sliver jug. Then, the pot is carried to a different maid who has a tray. The next step is to take it to the Queen, which is just a few feet further away.
4. Planning activities
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A nanny is responsible not only for taking care of the children but also for thinking about and suggesting new ideas to the whole family. She is expected to tell them how they should hang out together.
5. Styling hair
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The Royals have to look amazing all the time. So, a hairstylist must be available most of the time, which means 24 hours a day, every day of the week. A hairstylist was even available to make sure that Kate’s hair was perfect immediately after giving birth.
6. The staff is invisible
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One of the many rules that Royal staff has to remember is that they mustn’t be seen or heard. They have to make sure that they are not too distracting or disturbing, and need to just simply fade into the background and be invisible.
7. Prince’s Charles staff
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Prince Charles doesn’t do a lot of things for himself. Servants lay out his clothes, his right and left socks in the right spot. They also fold his towel for him so that he can sit and then wrap it around himself. In fact, the staff even squeezes his toothpaste on his toothbrush.
8. Serving cereal to the Queen
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The Queen wants her cereal to be served in plastic Tupperware. This is because she believes this type of container will keep the food fresher. Her favorite cereal is Special K.
9. Folding baby’s diapers
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There is one more rule that Royal nannies must follow, they must fold cloth diapers. Even though this seems unnecessary and old-fashioned, they have to know how to do it. It’s not known if the Royal babies wear them anymore.
10. Nannies have special outfits
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Nannies for special occasions, like christenings or weddings, must wear old-fashioned uniforms that look a lot like Mary Poppins’s outfit. The outfit is a bowler hat, white gloves, and a tan dress. Also, because this type of clothing gets a lot of attention from people, nannies don’t wear them every single day. For everyday purposes, they wear regular outfits, which makes it hard to separate them from the royal family’s staff.
Bonus: To actually get hired you have to pass a weird test
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There is one specific difference between a housekeeper that is being interviewed for a 5-star hotel and one interviewing for a position at the Royal Palace. Actually, there’s a test that will challenge the candidates’ attention to detail, and it has everything to do with spotting a dead fly on the carpet or on the fireplace.
Once the dead fly is in position, the candidate is welcomed into the room, slowly giving them time to look at the room. Then, hopefully, they will bend down and pick it up, and this will mean that they have passed the test and gotten themselves a job at the Palace. However, most of the time only 10 people will notice the fly and only one of them will pick it up.
What do you think about the rules? Would you like to be part of the Royal staff and why? Do you think you’d be able to pass the “dead fly” test?