Queen Elizabeth’s kitchen staff is going through a major overhaul. The Daily Star reports that more than a dozen staff members suddenly quit after not receiving enough paid time off, leaving the Queen and the rest of the royal family in limbo.
The members of the kitchen staff, which included chefs and porters, were reportedly angry about having to work at several locations without receiving adequate pay. An inside source even revealed that none of the staff members got time off to visit their families and reached the conclusion that it wasn’t worth their time. In light of the situation, the insider claims that the royal family is in turmoil and doesn’t know what to do.
The source explained how some of the chefs are required to serve the Queen, who resides at Windsor Castle and work at Buckingham Palace for official functions. According to the Grazia Daily , they also have to assist William, Kate, and Harry at Kensington Palace, not to mention the extra dinners they put on at St. James’s Palace. Between working long hours without extra pay and not getting time off, the staff simply reached a breaking point.
That said, a spokeswoman for the royal family denied the staff exits and claims that the Queen’s staff is still intact. She even said that the average time of employment is around seven years, and the normal pace of turnover hasn’t changed. Queen Elizabeth has not officially commented on the staffing issue.
This isn’t the first time this year that the Queen has faced some sort of staffing problem. A few months ago, Sir Christopher Geidt announced his retirements as Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary. Right after the announcement, the Queen’s assistant secretary, Samantha Cohen, also resigned from her post. It isn’t clear why the Queen is having trouble keeping staff members around, but they need to figure things out before the situation gets even worse.
The only problem is that many of the kitchen staffers who reportedly quit were experienced chefs and porters. Their absence will be hard to replace, especially if Queen Elizabeth and her family aren’t willing to budge on the salary issues.
[Featured Image by WPA Pool/Getty Images]
