Not in Front of the Corgis by Brian Hoey

meant that men and women who have served for years have been put out to grass, as there simply was not a job for them to do any more. They hated it of course, most of them having known nothing but Palace life since they were old enough to work. But savings had to be made and the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Master of the Household, propelled by the Duke of Edinburgh, wielded the knife with ruthless determination.
    There are separate divisions within the Above Stairs category, with Members right at the top, followed by Senior Officials and Officials.
    The Members are the people right at the top. Headed by the Lord Chamberlain, Head of the Royal Household, the others all lead the six departments that run the Palace.
    The Private Secretary, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, the Master of the Household, the Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office (the Lord Chamberlain himself has little to do with the everyday running of the department that bears his name), the Crown Equerry and the Director of the Royal Collection.
    Immediately beneath these people are the Senior Officials, the men and women such as the Chief Accountants and managers in each department. The day-to-day administration is left in the capable hands of the Officials: the clerks, junior managers and assistant personnel staff. In other words the lower ranks of white-collar workers.
    Right at the bottom of the ladder are the Staff: cooks, cleaners, footmen, housemaids, chauffeurs, mechanics and gardeners. And there are also some fifty extra workers based permanently at Buckingham Palace to care for the fabric of the building. These are not on the strength of the Household but employed by the Department of the Environment. The Post Office is run by Royal Mail and while those who work there are also not paid by The Queen, they are allowed to use many of the facilities enjoyed by the regular Palace staff.
    One way of telling in which category of royal servant a person falls (and they are all regarded as servants,even the Lord Chamberlain) is to note how they are addressed.
    At the very top, Members all call each other by their Christian names, no matter how junior or senior they may be. With one exception. The Lord Chamberlain is always referred to by his title – by everyone. Otherwise, a junior assistant press secretary , who might have joined the Royal Household in recent months, would still be expected to address Sir Christopher Geidt, The Queen’s Private Secretary and the most influential man in the Palace, as Christopher. Such informality is taken for granted and doesn’t seem to diminish in any way the mutual respect the Members have for each other.
    Surnames are always used when referring to Officials. They only use Christian names between men and women of equal rank and status. And it is usually Mr, Mrs or Miss though a few ‘Ms’s have crept in in recent years when a number of feminists have insisted on being addressed as such.
    Staff do not have the problem of trying to distinguish between Members, Senior Officials and Officials. They call everyone Sir or Madam. Though one or two of the longest-serving domestic staff have their own way of saying Sir that lets the recipient know what they really feel.
    Angela Kelly, The Queen’s senior dresser and now Personal Assistant and Curator of Her Majesty’s Jewels, is the servant closest to The Queen in every way. She sees her every day, is a confidante and adviser on the royal wardrobe and although technically she is Staff, and is invariably correct in her dealings withthose above her in the Palace hierarchy, they all know she has the ear of The Queen, and are therefore wary when approaching her. She is not a woman anyone, including the Lord Chamberlain, would wish to offend. Not that she parades her superiority. She is a vivacious, outgoing personality who enjoys life to the full, with a splendid apartment near The Queen’s quarters at Buckingham Palace and another elegant home in Windsor Great Park. So it