Royal courtiers - who do they work for?

[Igloo71]

So apparently H&M may criticise courtiers/the suits during their Oprah interview. But is that fair and not just deflecting? I’m not massively aware of the mechanics of the Royal Family but whilst courtiers carry out the bureaucracy of royal protocol, is that not primarily for the royal family to ensure they fulfil their role correctly? So in reality, courtiers “work for” the queen?

Yes they do.
I believe they have a reputation for being very territorial about the Royal they work for so it's quite a political environment.
Quite a few are actually civil servants and so slagging them off for fulfilling their role is not the done thing.
As an American Meghan may not appreciate the nuances of this type of employment.
Diana was very critical of some royal staff too.

I think the main Royal Household operates like a big company with the different individual households run like separate departments / branches of a bigger company.

So staff are employed in a specific department - which has its own budget and is in charge of its own hiring but then there is oversight from the top.

Although the Prince of Wales seems to report separately on the budget of his office so there might be adjacent branches which run independently.

Courtiers is too vague a term really - there will be senior staff - at the level of the private secretaries who are like senior civil servants in terms of power and influence but there are hundreds of other members of staff who probably just see it as a regular job. And then you've got staff like Angela Kelly who isn't a courtier but as the Queen's main dresser has quite a lot of influence in various departments in the Royal Household.

That’s really interesting, thank you. So, it makes me wonder, do you think they are just the soft targets? It seems that H&M are battling the system/mechanics of royalty and it’s not simply about individuals or the suits. A bit like when we say in the working environment that we don’t like the culture of an organisation...

I think that’s what they are saying. The Royal employees have signed gagging orders I believe. Therefore H&M can say what they want. They are very much complaining about the Royal Family and the way it works. So they obviously couldn’t stay but dishing it out with Oprah is a step too far. Clearly very little is private with them as far as family is concerned. It’s very bad manners and I cannot imagine what the Queen thinks!

I do believe Charles and Camilla might well change things. H&M couldn’t wait though.

@Igloo71

That’s really interesting, thank you. So, it makes me wonder, do you think they are just the soft targets? It seems that H&M are battling the system/mechanics of royalty and it’s not simply about individuals or the suits. A bit like when we say in the working environment that we don’t like the culture of an organisation...

I have been wondering about that - seems that while they work for the family, there is a lot of pressure and rules about how things should be done. So, if you get someone who comes in who doesn't conform immediately, like Megan, I could see how there would be friction. Diana talked about the grey men in suits a lot too, didn't she? So you have an organization which is stuck in its ways, and used to dealing with people who just bow down, or frankly are not able to formulate another opinion, meeting a woman who has to have a lot of drive and opinions to have done as well as she had before she met H. And instead of giving in, her husband backed her up. I dont think they are soft targets at all - the timing of this and the statements from the palace are just an obvious attack on H&M (but mostly M).

Yes I agree, like when you get home and say you’re sick of your job, the people you work with and how they operate is the pits. But those people and the culture you work in is your own family! Not just the courtiers and staff who are in the firing line it seems now...

I guess “the rules” of how things should be done could be justified by saying that they’re upholding the history of the mechanics of royalty? Maybe I’ve watched too much of the Crown but I guess someone’s JD might include making sure that the RF operate according to historical ways of working?

I really think that working for the RF in Private Office would be one of the worst jobs ever.
The bullying rumours that have come to light stem from the fact that there is probably little protection of staff from the RF members should they not be great employers.
Like working for Ministers - the amount of shit some civil Servants have to put up with is unbelievable. They have no job protection in the end.
I knew a minister who had a senior civil servant moved from a very prestigious job when they moved departments because they wanted someone else they'd worked with to do it instead.

There was talk at the time that Meghan was rude to the staff and they were leaving. Also it was said that Catherine had to talk to her about how to treat staff. Then again there was supposed to be unreasonable requests from her made at unreasonable hours. Considering H&M were supposedly upset with the media they have done a grand job escaping from it by going on Oprah’s show and signing a multi million deal with Netflix. When George V1 referred to the Royal family as the “firm” he was talking about a collective service. Meghan appears to refer to “the firm” as if they are some sinister organisation. As for her suffering racism in the UK I suppose the United States is different!!! Well they must be happy now with their sought after celebrity status and so be it. Good luck to them so long as they leave their criticisms within their private walls. The way they have treated the Queen, Harry’s grandmother, is despicable.