Prince William now has his own “Jeeves” - a close personal servant - as he agrees to take on full-time valet for the first time, a royal sou...
Prince William now has his own “Jeeves” - a close personal servant - as he agrees to take on full-time valet for the first time, a royal source has revealed.
The heir to the throne has always been reluctant to hire personal royal staff due to concern that they could get too close and also a belief that they are not always necessary.
But due to an extra workload that has come about due to the King requiring time to convalesce as he has cancer treatment and Kate’s abdominal surgery, he has decided to go ahead and bring in a senior valet.
The Royal Family has seen various cases of where aides have courted publicity after having important roles and this is what William has sought to avoid. Paul Burrell, who was a butler to Princess Diana, has become a television personality as a result of his royal knowledge.
William has preferred to receive styling advice from his wife and he has used a valet from time to time who has been more of a personal attendant than being responsible for his clothing and appearance.
The job people mostly associated with valets is dressing, washing and shaving the gentlemen they serve - being the male equivalent of a lady's maid. They also looked after their clothing and footwear - mending them and keeping them clean.
Valets also accompany their employer on trips and up until now William is not thought to have used someone who would regularly take on this role.
Now the new full-time valet is in his mid-20s and has worked in the Royal Family before inside a close circle of staff used by Queen Elizabeth during the Covid pandemic, it is reported. From there he worked as a sheik’s butler in the Middle East before returning to the UK.
“After years of resisting, William has taken on his very own Jeeves. William used to dress himself and do everything else himself too,” a source told the Mail. “He got forced into hiring a valet to help dress him and lay out his clothes, which he's never had. Occasionally, if he went to an official event, he'd probably borrow a valet, but on the whole he's always thought it is pretentious and a bit much.”
William and Kate generally don’t like having a lot of staff in their home, said another source. They said: “While they're in Adelaide Cottage, William and Kate just don't like lots of staff – and there's no room to stay anyway. But William has realised there are a lot of uniforms, a lot of other things to do, so life is more complicated than before.
“He was resisting having a valet to protect his privacy and he always said he is a man of his generation and can put on his own pants. Then he realised, particularly with becoming Prince of Wales, that it's a lot more work.” Importantly also the new valet is reportedly discreet and keen to remain anonymous so is considered less of a risk in courting publicity.
No comments