King Charles Employs 28 Personal Household Staff Members That Have to Do Some Really Weird Job Duties

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published 2 December 2023

It’s old news by now that King Charles has some idiosyncrasies—in truth, we all do, but some of the King’s are, well, interesting on a royal level. (Think aides squeezing toothpaste on his toothbrush for him.) In his new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, royal author Omid Scobie spills the tea on even more of Charles’ slightly bizarre requests, specifically surrounding his morning routine.

Of said morning routine, former royal butler Paul Burrell said in the Amazon Prime documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm that the King has “everything done for him.” Per The Mirror, Charles employs 28 personal household staff members, including four chefs, five house managers, three valets and dressers, and a couple of butlers, all dedicated to the work of keeping the King happy.

In the documentary, Burrell said that Charles requested that his “shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron” by his staff members, which Scobie also brings up in Endgame, calling him a “pampered” royal who leads an “extravagantly luxurious lifestyle.”

“When laces get even the smallest bit threadbare, a staff member must quickly switch them out with a fresh, ironed pair,” Scobie writes. “There is even a rumor (one that, surprisingly, sources have confirmed) that Charles likes to have someone squeeze exactly one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush for him ahead of his bedtime routine.”

The book also alleges that Charles insists on traveling with 1,000-threat-count bed linens, which have to be perfectly steamed.

Back to Burrell and Charles’ morning routine: “His pajamas are pressed every morning, his shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position, and the water temperature has to be just tepid,” Burrell said. The King also requests that his bath be “only half full,” and Burrell confirms the toothpaste on the toothbrush rumor, a task done by one of his valets.

Chef Graham Newbould, a former member of the royal staff, said of the King’s breakfast that he leans towards healthy. “He’d have homemade bread, a bowl of fresh fruit, fresh fruit juices,” Newbould said, adding that Charles eats breakfast wherever he goes. “He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit, and anything that’s a bit special that he is a bit fussy about.”

His fussiness apparently extends to travel demands, too, as The Mirror reports that, as we’ve heard before, “he takes his own toilet seat and loo roll on trips.” Oh, to be King…

"Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival" by Omid Scobie

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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