According to the daily The Guardian, dozens of staff at Clarence House, the former official residence of Charles III in London, have already received their dismissal letters. A hundred people would work at Clarence House, some for decades.
The services of the king and queen consort will be transferred to Buckingham Palace after the accession to the throne of Charles III, who became king last Thursday after the death of his mother Elizabeth II. “Following last week’s accession to the throne, the operations of the household of the former Prince of Wales and the former Duchess of Cornwall have ceased and, as required by law, a consultation process started,” said Clarence House, contacted by AFP.
“Our staff have given long and loyal service and, although some redundancies are inevitable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for as many staff as possible,” Clarence House added.
“Clarence House’s decision to announce layoffs in a time of mourning is simply heartless,” the PCS union general secretary said in a statement. “If changes were to be expected as roles evolve within the Royal Family, the scale and speed with which they were announced is ruthless in the extreme,” the union adds.
All laid off employees will be offered ‘enhanced’ severance packages and none will be affected for at least three months, according to royal sources.