Royal Household makes major staffing changes as two key aides quit

A number of senior aides in the royal household have quit in recent days, leading to major staffing changes.

Julian Payne, Communications Secretary to the Prince of Wales, is leaving his position after five years on the job. It is believed that he is quitting the royal household for the position of Chair of Corporate Affairs EMEA for Edelman, reports Royal Central.

Payne has spent more than 20 years in the Communications industry, working for a range of organisations including the BBC, Sky Television, Burberry, Honda F1, and BT. He was widely credited for increasing the social presence of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla and improving their public popularity rating which is much greater than it was five years ago.

Another key aide who has quit the royal household is Christian Jones, Acting Private Secretary to Prince William. Jones is leaving his position at the Kensington Palace to become a partner in Bridgepoint, a private equity group worth £18billion.

Jones was previously the head of news at the Department for Exiting the European Union. He became the Duke's Acting Private Secretary last year after his previous aide, Simon Case, was poached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to become Cabinet Secretary.

Jones would remain an advisor to Prince William and Kate Middleton even after his resignation. A source told The Telegraph: "Whereas Simon was credited with making the Duke a statesman - Christian has really helped them to steer them through their public-facing role during the pandemic. He's helped them to grow in confidence by gently pushing them out of their comfort zone."

On a positive note, Amanda McManus has returned to her role as the Duchess of Cornwall's Private Secretary following a year-long sabbatical.

Meanwhile, the Queen's royal household has released a vacancy for a Design and Development Assistant for the Royal Collection Trust shop at their Stoke-on-Trent office, where the China and Glassware products are made. The Trust's Retail team operates shops at the Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and also has a growing online presence.

The permanent contract position will involve support, design, development, and planning of the production of items, in addition to providing vital admin and logistical support to the team, help place and oversee regular orders of stock, packaging and gift boxes, bringing all the components of a product together, ready to send out to the shops.

Interviews for the role are taking place till the end of the month. The successful candidate could earn up to £23,000 a year dependent on his or her experience.