In a “Revolutionary Move,” Prince William and Princess Kate are Hiring Their Own Personal CEO, Who Must Have a "Low Ego"

Prince William and Kate Middleton at an engagement together

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 16 September 2023

According to multiple outlets, the Prince and Princess of Wales are set to hire their own personal CEO, representing a shakeup in staffing within the Firm and bringing onboard someone who will oversee all of their affairs, “foreshadowing a drastic hierarchical shift in Kensington Palace,” Tatler reports.

Their CEO will manage William and Kate’s 60 staff members at the royal palaces, said The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden. The Palace has reportedly hired the recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson to search for the highly skilled candidate, who will report directly to William and Kate, and not “the legions of private secretaries that surround the royal family,” Tatler reports. This person will keep close contact with leading figures in William and Kate’s charities, like the Earthshot Prize and the Royal Foundation; they will also provide a strategic interface to align William and Kate’s priorities with those in support of King Charles’ and Queen Camilla’s.

The role will be primarily based at Kensington Palace with occasional travel to Windsor Castle, per the job description. Its summary reads “The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the most senior and accountable leader for the Household of The Prince and Princess of Wales (the Household). They report to TRHs The Prince and Princess of Wales, representing TRHs to the Household, leading the organization, and supporting its senior leaders to deliver the work and impact of TRH’s official and private offices.”

A source told Eden that “they are overthrowing the traditional, hierarchical structure in which staff answer to private secretaries. It has really set the cat among the pigeons. Will the King and Queen have to follow their lead?”

Traditionally, Tatler reports, private secretaries handle all matters in royal households, taking care of the wide variety of affairs pertaining to senior royals. Private secretaries might have had the power heretofore, but the new CEO will answer only to William and Kate themselves.

The ideal candidate for the CEO position “will bring a track record of strategic and cultural leadership in complex, fast-paced settings, and the ability to demonstrate core values of discretion, humility, integrity, and diplomacy, at the heart of this distinctive working environment,” the job description reads, per Hello. The ideal candidate must also have, per The Daily Express, a “low ego,” as well as be emotionally intelligent and “able to operate as a ‘servant’ leader, empowering the senior team.” The salary of the CEO has not been revealed, “but they are likely to be paid more than the couple’s private secretaries,” The Daily Express reports.

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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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