Royal Family Maid Arrested at Violent Palace Christmas Party

Kate Middleton wears a long red coat as she attends the Christmas Carol concert and King Charles smiles next to a Christmas tree in Buckingham Palace

(Image credit: JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

If you assumed that working for the Royal Family would be a strictly professional affair, you'd apparently be mistaken. According to multiple reports, this year's Christmas party for Buckingham Palace staff got a little out of hand and even led to one person getting arrested.

After having pre-party drinks at Buckingham Palace, approximately fifty staff members attended a planned party at the venue All Bar One in London, per The Sun. It reportedly didn't take much time for the party to get entirely "out of control," however, with the outlet reporting, "A woman believed to be a housemaid aimed a punch at the manager, smashed glasses and was arrested." A source told the outlet that the party had been "a tough night" for all concerned.

Of the alleged incident, a Met Police spokesperson told Hello! magazine, "On Tuesday, December 10, officers were called to a bar in Victoria Street, SW1 following reports that a customer had smashed glasses and attempted to assault a member of staff."

A Christmas tree featuring bright white lights stands outside of Buckingham Palace in London — A Christmas tree stands outside Buckingham Palace.

"Officers attended and arrested a 24-year-old woman on suspicion of common assault, criminal damage, and being drunk and disorderly," the Met Police statement continued. "She was taken into custody and released the following evening having been given a penalty notice for disorder."

Buckingham Palace provided a response to the outlet, saying of the Christmas party, "We are aware of an incident outside the workplace involving a number of Household staff who had previously attended an early evening reception at the Palace." The statement continued, "While this was an informal social gathering, not an official Palace Christmas party, the facts will be fully investigated, with a robust disciplinary process followed in relation to individual staff and appropriate action taken."

Princess Kate holding a candle wearing a red coat at church standing next to Prince Louis in a suit — Kate Middleton attended her annual Christmas concert on Dec. 6.

Discussing the alleged events that transpired at the party, a source told The Sun, "I've never seen one person get that crazy during a night out. She was on another level."

Describing the altercation in more detail, one source alleged to the outlet, "She started smashing glasses and abusing our staff members, so we had to call the police." Another source claimed, "It had been a crazy night, we were incredibly busy and we had to deal with so many bookings."

Presumably, the Royal Family's Christmas party at Sandringham will be a little more sedate than the staff member event. In fact, Prince William recently described his Christmas plans, which sounded very low-key.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.