Prince William & Kate ask staffers to not dress formally around the office

There’s something incredibly funny about an entire national media stopping what they were doing so they can all scream, cry and throw up about a Netflix lifestyle/cooking show. Tell me the Left-Behinds are boring without telling me they’re boring, you know? While everyone in the British media seems focused on With Love, Meghan, it’s seems pretty obvious that the Windsors will likely pick up some tips as well. I’m sure Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace staffers devoured the show and some not-so-subtle rebrands and photo-ops are being planned. Speaking of, did you know that William and Kate have an almost Californian attitude towards staffers? They want their staff to wear casual clothes. I imagine we’ll hear that Kate walks barefoot through her gardens too.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to have a dress code for staff in their royal household, but it may surprise you. Although they reside in lavish royal residences and regularly attend fancy events, they have a set style they like to adopt when they are behind closed doors.

Royal author Valentine Low revealed the rules they have for their household staff in his book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown.

He claims a staff member told him: “[Prince William] wants it to be casual. The kids run around the office, and he does not want it to be stuffy.”

To achieve this, the Prince and Princess of Wales ask staff to not wear formal attire unless it is appropriate to do so. The insider continued: “If we have important meetings or are going to Buckingham Palace, then, of course, we [dress up].”

Kate and William also like to ditch royal tradition when it comes to parenting their kids, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five. The devoted parents are keen to make the royal kids feel they can talk about their feelings, instead of losing their tempers. A source told Fabulous that “shouting is absolutely ‘off limits'” for the three children at all times. Instead, the kids are encouraged to discuss what it is that’s bothering them in a more constructive manner.

The source said: “The children are encouraged to talk about their feelings. They express their concerns over school subjects, a swimming class, a tricky ballet manoeuvre, a missed tennis rally, or seeing children starving on a TV ad. But a talk ensues and a solution found.”

What’s more, William and Kate have also adopted the family’s no-shouting rule themselves in order to present a “united front” to their children. “There is no question of one parent saying ‘no’ and the other saying ‘yes’ later on as Kate and William want to present a unified parental front to their children,” our source added.

[From The Sun]

Given what we know of William’s incandescent rage and all of the stories about how often he screams at people, I seriously doubt that the kids are being raised in a “no shouting” environment. As for the staffers… we’ve heard such wildly different things over the years. I remember when there was gossip that Kate and William were “very grand” with staff and they both demanded staffers use their titles constantly. Of course, in Kate’s case, I’ve wondered a lot in recent years how often she’s even around KP staffers. Remember last year, during the “Kate Missington” period, staffers even said they hadn’t seen her in weeks/months. It often feels like they shuffled her off to Adelaide Cottage and she maybe gets a weekly email.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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64 Responses to “Prince William & Kate ask staffers to not dress formally around the office”

  1. Tessa says:

    They “discuss” their feelings? sure. How often is William even under the same roof? Too bad William could not have “discussed” his feelings with his brother instead of bullying.

  2. Blogger says:

    Who’s the staff member Valentine? An unnamed source again?

    Their staff are also poorly paid so unless they have a clothing allowance from mummy and daddy, then casual wear from TK Maxx is the way to go. Just ask Willie’s brother.

    • Jais says:

      Has this book come out yet? It’ll be interesting in that I can believe Valentine Low might be fed specific details that the royals want out there. I just think it’s funny he chose to share these details, about the kids playing at KP office when Meghan just shared with People that her kids came to her work and were putting on headphones to see her film. Seeing as how the kids go to school in Windsor though I’m not sure how often they would be in the KP offices. Do they have offices in Windsor now? Do we even know?

      • Eurydice says:

        It’s been out for three years, I think. I was going to ask why are they dredging up 3-year old crumbs now – but we know why.

      • Blogger says:

        It was first published three years ago so they’re running out of content again. Must be a reissue or a revised edition post-coronation.

        https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61885039-courtiers

      • Jais says:

        Ohhhh. Lol, okay that’s funny. So they’re just randomly giving us details from this 3yr old book. Lordy. Meghan is out there feeding her crew Korean fried chicken and so we need to be reminded that KP staff can dress casual. Actually, now that I think about it I kind of remember this story from the first time it came around.

      • Christine says:

        I am never going to stop laughing that this is a 3 year old book! OMG, they are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel over there.

    • Yes but now they will want them to wear linen shirts and breezy pants. They will be told to only bring fresh produce from their gardens and casual Friday means flip flops for all. They are so obvious in what they are doing lol.

      • Smart&Messy says:

        Hahaha spot on! And no more store bought tea. Everyone makes their own from now.

  3. Nanea says:

    The Wailses are so absolutely unstuffy that they make George dress up like an assistant bank manager on football-related outings, when other royal kids are wearing team jerseys — or jeans, sweater, team scarf.

    And we all know how civil they are with each other at home, unless Louis learned his behavior towards Kate from TV shows, or something. Add in all the stories about George being tantrumy and/or entitled at school, I can totally believe they’re respectful with each other at all times…
    🙄

    • Joanne says:

      Respectful? Is only throwing cushions and never lamps the example they are setting for the children? They are either quiet and a team or boisterous and having loud fights, it can’t be both. Pick a lane royal rats, pick a lane.

    • MsDarcy says:

      @Nanea, I came here to say the same thing. No way does Make George wear a suit and tie to a football match encourage their staff to dress down.

    • Lil Soleil says:

      @Nanea. L O freaking L!!!

  4. SarahCS says:

    I’m enjoying the mental wrangling that must have gone on behind this:

    Meghan is lovely to the film crew and people on her show.

    WanK can do that.

    But then we remind everyone that they have a TON of staff and do FA.

    Hmm. Tricky. Ah never mind, the dig at Meghan is worth it.

  5. MrsCope says:

    I hope they stay together forever. Mostly because I wouldn’t want them inflicted on anyone else, and they conspired together, they should own that web and sit in it until they shuffle off this mortal coil. That’s all I will say. They can have that marriage.

  6. Swaz says:

    Can you imagine writing this to the public that’s paying 300 million pounds a year to support this family, such trivial nonsense.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Right??? Like taxpayers should be delighted to hear how down to earth they are and how normal they are as parents. Kate who is the most specialest cancer survivor only does what brings her joy, how amazing to know.

  7. ShazBot says:

    Why are the kids running around the office? When are they even there?

    • BeanieBean says:

      That was my question, when are they even there?? During the week, they’re in school. Weekends & school breaks, they’re at Anmer or off skiing or at some beach. Where is this so-called office, anyway?

      • Nanea says:

        The office is at KP, in the ground floor/ basement that used to be rented out to some charity or other, IIRC.

        Can’t be bothered to look up the detais, sorry…

      • Jumpingthesnark says:

        So, KP staffers coming in to work in their joggers and favorite college hoodies that have been washed and worn to the perfect softness? Yea, I doubt it……

    • Smart&Messy says:

      When are Keen and Egg in the office?? William wanted to employ a CEO so he doesn’t have to interact with his own secretary and middle management. We’ve already been told how rarely they see Kate. So it doesn’t matter what they wear because they don’t meet the royals all that often.

  8. Jais says:

    I can believe that there are no shouting rules in place…now. It just seems very specific. As in maybe there was some cases of shouting, whether it was the adults or the children, and in reaction that has become a rule. Wasn’t it Jobsen who talked about Kate and William throwing pillows at each other? I doubt they were whisper-shouting as they were throwing pillows you known what I mean? But yeah at the end of the day, how do we even know what’s true when there are such vastly different reports from different reporters. If someone said that the Sussexes were throwing pillows at each other we wouldn’t believe it. That said, a consistent detail that’s always been alluded to is William’s temper and that’s been by more than just a few royal reporters.

  9. TigerMcQueen says:

    “The source said: “The children are encouraged to talk about their feelings. They express their concerns over school subjects, a swimming class, a tricky ballet manoeuvre, a missed tennis rally, or seeing children starving on a TV ad. But a talk ensues and a solution found.””

    OMG putting in “children starving on a TV ad” in with missed tennis rally and missing a ballet move and do (in a story about how they allow the help to dress casually when appropriate)…do they not hear how that sounds?

    • Tessa says:

      A solution found? Involving seeing starving children?. Maybe William brags he will “end” homelessness. That just sounds so bizarre. William says he points out homeless people to the kids during school runs. And they go to expensive resorts. I don’t think William has the patience to talk to anyone about “their feelings.”

      This sounds so very like something from Marie Antoinette.

    • Joanne says:

      But that’s William “throwing a little empathy in there”. He’s such a diverse fellow.

    • Blogger says:

      “They’re called the poors, Charlotte…just like those people you see sleeping in the streets of Windsor. They have no homes. They’re called homeless.”

    • Me at home says:

      That line about the ballet and missed tennis rally and so on creeped me out, because it sounded like the message to the kids was “do better.” Or that the kids were afraid of failing. Neither is good.

    • Belinda says:

      OMG, the brain dead PR just keeps on coming doesn’t it?

      I’m sure people struggling to survive for basic needs like food, heating, medicines etc will COMPLETELY understand they come last on the list of the Wales families “things to worry about”, don’t you know.

      I mean, a tricky ballet move, or a missed tennis rally must be agony, right? And oh yes, seeing starving children on TV is on the same par?

      What planet are they on? How can they not realise how this sounds? Are they this totally thick and uncaring?

      • Blogger says:

        Well, Willie’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

        He was the one who made fun of COVID, told Harry not to tell Meghan that he assaulted him, told Harry that Africa was his, told Harry he shouldn’t have a beard, told Israel and Palestine to be mates again, told the Lionesses he couldn’t possibly fly to see them in a grand final as patron, told his dad he only wants one patronage from his grandmother shared with his vacuous and equally as lazy wife…

        So in a word, Yes. He’s thick and that uncaring. Diana’s spirit left him a long, long time ago.

  10. Hypocrisy says:

    Was there a point to this article besides “we are laid back with out staff of 60” just like everyone else 🤦🏼‍♀️ can they please just stop..after all these years these articles during Meghans promotional engagements for her show just make them come across as pathetically desperate.

  11. ThatGirlThere says:

    This is just embarrassing. Be yourself, and in this case, consider therapy to work on personal growth. Leaking a fake ‘so casual California’ vibe to the media instead of being authentic is just pathetic.

    I can’t get over how drab and cheap looking that brown blazer looks on Katie.

  12. wolfmamma says:

    Hm.. what about that Spanish nanny always seen in that dowdy uniform ?

    On the other hand, the Wales themselves have pretty poor looks these days – especially Willie and that funky “ beard”

  13. jemmy says:

    William wants to be Harry & Meghan so badly that it is scary. And since he cant be them, he wants to to totally erase them especially Meghan.

    Kate is just angry at Harry & Meghan as they both show her up for the fraud she is. She probably thought she could wrangle it thru being married to William by being what the UK wanted her to be only for H&M to rip up the play book by being truly in love and their authentic self.

  14. sevenblue says:

    We have seen the nanny working for them dressed like a nanny from another century and the press even praised Kate for it, being “traditional”. I don’t believe K&W have a modern bone in their body. They really want Kate & Will to be just like H&M. It is hilarious.

    • windyriver says:

      I’m not sure if we can blame W&K for how nanny Maria dressed. She’s Norland trained, a big deal, and the uniform is a recognizable symbol of that training. That ugly tan dress she was pictured in during the early days with George (I think it was redesigned after that, not hugely better) is not the only thing available, there’s other separates in navy and brown. When I looked at the website a couple of years ago, it seemed like it was common for graduates to continue wearing the navy separates while working at actual jobs. Just took a look at their current video and I’m wondering if it’s a little more relaxed these days outside of the school environment. The question is, was it nanny Maria’s choice to continue to wear the uniform pieces, or did W&K want her to, to show off they had a Norland nanny.

      Also, do we know for sure if Maria is still with the family?

      • Nic919 says:

        They have been very quiet about nanny Maria. There was a brief reference last year that she was around to help Kate post surgery. But nothing since.

        Maria usually dressed as a regular parent watching kids. There is a photo of her with the kids when they were headed to the Jordan vacation at the airport and she isn’t wearing that dress but something more practical.

        The silence about Maria is weird. The kids are at a natural age that a nanny wouldn’t be needed, and you think Kate and William would confirm she isn’t there hence the obsession over doing the school run. But they haven’t said anything.

      • sevenblue says:

        @windyriver, she wouldn’t wear a uniform if her employers didn’t approve of it. Come on now. She looked out of this century, so I am guessing that is why we didn’t see that uniform again, even though a few reporters tried to praise Kate for employing a traditional nanny.

      • Belinda says:

        I think it was desperate snob Carole Middleton who probably put Kate up to the idea of Nanny Maria wearing her brown Norland uniform. The ultimate ultra rich, aristocracy symbol. If Carole could have got away with it, she would have had “my grandchildren have a Norland nanny” stamped across her forehead, so all the plebs could gawp, gasp and bow down in reverence when Carole swished by.

    • Nic919 says:

      I only recall Maria having to wear that uniform for Charlotte’s christening which Kate turned into a production far more than she did with George. Maria could have simply worn a nice dress but Kate brought out the pram and wanted a production.

      Maria did not wear that uniform for Harry and Meghan’s wedding because she was handling George and Charlotte at the church and Kate didn’t want to make it obvious that she wasn’t being hands on mother the whole time. Also the media made sure to keep quiet on who was watching Louis because Maria was at the church and the Middletons were as well. That was an example of the additional nannies around when the Cambridge kids were young but the media kept quiet on it.

      • windyriver says:

        @Nic919, @sevenblue – to be clear, I’m not talking about the dowdy tan dress Maria wore early on. I agree, her appearing in that outfit was a specific choice, and not Maria’s. Since I didn’t recall seeing her in it much afterwards, I wasn’t sure what was referred to by “dressed like a nanny from another century”. I’m specifically picturing Maria a few years back in a navy blue cardigan, and my first thought was, Norland. I’d been reading their site, and as I said above, not only are navy separates part of the school uniform, but pictures of employed graduates showed them continuing to wear them in their later jobs. One the one hand, unlike that uniform, they’re perfectly nice separates, and if you have them, why not continue to wear them when you’re working. But if I moved in those circles, I’d likely know what those clothes were. That’s all I meant when I talked about whose choice it was to wear those clothes. Haven’t done a deeper dive on what Maria was wearing, and when – but, for example, from what @Nic919 says above, having Maria be visible in obvious Norland related clothes, was one way for Kate & Co. to obscure Maria wasn’t the only nanny there.

        And yes, the silence about where Maria is now is weird.

  15. Libra says:

    “Kate gives as good as she gets”. Remember that? In response to epic shouting matches from an “insider”/

  16. Jas says:

    I seem to remember a comment from Harry or Meghan about the Wales’s formality at home. Meghan turned up in ripped jeans and William and Kate were dressed up like they were going out. Maybe they’ve changed things up since then in their efforts to outdo Harry and Meghan.

  17. Beana says:

    Of course they let their staff dress casually. Wouldn’t want anyone to think that actual work should be done there.

  18. Me at home says:

    They’re dredging up a 3-year-old book because there’s no other news about this pair, yet they’re desperately competing with Meghan. How very sad.

  19. Tina says:

    The situation behind the scenes must be pretty dire since they haven’t dragged Kate out this week and all they can talk about is 3 year old information.

  20. Lizzie says:

    Why does an article about staff dress code revolve around the little children? Are they saying office staff have to dress in a way to make children comfortable? Maybe they can take a tip from Meghan and buy one of those gizmos to blow up balloons and keep it on their desks to amuse the kiddos who are ‘running around’.

  21. BeanieBean says:

    What’s with this ‘no shouting’ stuff? Have they forgotten all the K&W shouting & throwing things stories they’ve written over the years? The ‘Kate gives as good as she gets’? 🐂💩
    And the kids run around the office???? Ha! Good one! Sure they do. Where is this ‘office’ anyway? KP? The kids live in Windsor & go to school nearby-ish. Monday through Friday, they’re in school, nowhere near this alleged ‘office’. Outside of term time, they’re in Anmer. Or off on vacay somewhere in the world. When on earth would they even have the opportunity to run around the office??

  22. QuiteContrary says:

    There’s a British comedian named Daniel Foxx, author of the book “Bedtime Stories for Privileged Children,” whose bits include wealthy parents bragging about the brilliant insights and conversations of their smarty-pants, rich children.

    This could be one of his bits: “The children are encouraged to talk about their feelings. They express their concerns over school subjects, a swimming class, a tricky ballet manoeuvre, a missed tennis rally, or seeing children starving on a TV ad. But a talk ensues and a solution found.”

  23. Over it says:

    So do they throw pillows at each other instead of shouting? Or are the pillows done infront of the kids and the shouting when they leave the house ? How is William going to get out his incandescent and Kate her snarling if they don’t do it to each other ? Oh wait, they do it at garden parties to other people and to sister in law at funeral walk about and In the kitchen of brothers houses . Silly me . Sorry for asking

  24. Jaded says:

    A source told Fabulous that “shouting is absolutely ‘off limits’” for the three children at all times. But apparently Wilbur is the exception to the rule. He shouted at his brother and SIL, he shouts at Kate, and she more than likely shouts back. We know she’s shouted at Meghan (“Where are our Easter gifts!?!?” “You don’t know me well enough to talk about baby brain!!!” “The bridesmaids have to wear tights dammit!!!” “Charlotte’s hem is too short, remake her damn dress!!!”) And I’m sure she shouted at Meghan just prior to the post-funeral walkabout, lightening bolts were coming out of her eyes.

  25. Lau says:

    I think that the staffers can come to work wearing whatever they want because the bosses are literaly never coming to the office lol.

  26. HeatherC says:

    How would they even know how their staff in the office dresses? The presumption is that they go to the office, which we know they don’t. That requires work.

  27. tamsin says:

    When was this first published again? Were they trying to get ahead of the pillow throwing stories which I take to be an expose of the Wales domestic fighting?

  28. Eating Popcorn says:

    I’m sure His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, Earl of Chester, William Mountbatten-Windsor is upset Meghan used the name Sussex.

  29. alteya says:

    How would either of these lazy idiots know how the staff dress? Staff let slip they go months without seeing or hearing from W&K.

  30. Liz - L says:

    Is that the same couple who insisted on a uniformed Norland nanny. And had the poor lady sticking out like a sore thumb at events when they said she had to wear it there.

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