No one said much about this beyond the initial flurry of reporting, but I feel like there was A LOT of gossip around the Queen cutting her Balmoral summer holiday short. She would prefer to stay in Scotland until the end of September every year, but staff forced Prince Philip to travel to Balmoral with her and he was NOT happy. He didn’t want to be moved around constantly. He wanted to go back to Wood Farm, on the Sandringham estate. They did end up going to Wood Farm together for a few weeks after Balmoral (after cutting the Scottish jaunt short), but now they’re being moved back to Windsor Castle. Philip is very displeased and he doesn’t want to spend any more time with the Queen. Guess who else doesn’t want to spend any more time with the Queen? Her staff. They’re already trying to figure out the pandemic-plans for staffing for Christmas, and the Queen’s staff is in revolt.
Royal staff have rebelled over plans to make them leave their families and work in a Covid bubble for the Queen over Christmas. They say they are unwilling to isolate from loved ones for four weeks. The staff were asked to provide backroom support for the Queen during her traditional Sandringham break.
The uprising means the monarch, 94, may be forced to spend it at Windsor Castle for the first time in 33 years. An insider said: “The Queen is furious. The staff said enough is enough. It is absolutely unprecedented. Everybody wants to stay loyal but they feel they’ve been pushed too far by being made to isolate from their families for Christmas.”
The mutiny is said to involve about 20 staff including cleaners, laundry and maintenance workers. A source said: “Discussions are taking place with the team on operational matters but it is too early to speculate on implications for Christmas.”
Yep. I’m reminded again of what Andrew Morton said in June – QEII’s reign is effectively over because of the pandemic. She can’t continue to be shuffled between grand properties and expect dozens of staffers to stay isolated away from their families for weeks at a time. Especially considering that Sandringham is her PRIVATE estate. Let the petty B stay in Windsor. And give the staff a real Christmas holiday. Also: imagine being “furious” that the peasants won’t wash your floors on Christmas because they can’t see their families for a month.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Backgrid.
How long have they been in the bubble so far? It’s possible they have been stuck there since March and being asked to give up Christmas was the last straw.
The old lady is stuck in her ways. She probably never once thought about the sacrifices her staff have made to serve her during this time. I’m sure Angela Kelly will still be there to change her knickers.
AK was probably gassing her up the entire time about how selfish everyone else is to not go along with whatever Betty wanted.
It is funny to think that at 99 Philip can still exert his will and get things moved from Balmoral. Poor old coot just wants to go back to Wood Farm.
Philip wants to play toss the Penny. He can’t with Petty Betty around.
Petty Betty wants all to come to HER beck and call, possibly cheered on by Penis With BIG Teeth, because he’d like to be out at Amner, to tend to HIS Rose Bush over the holidays.
And of course, the peons are expected to drop to the knee, and schlep everything everywhere, and forget THEY have a family, to do whatever their “betters” want.
FEH.
JMO but at 99 there is no sexy playtime. The guy deserves to stay put where he wants. Shuffling a man of this age around (and he certainly doesn’t look good/healthy) is cruel. It’s disorienting and will cause stress that isn’t needed.
And when it comes down to not having the money to pay for staff for her husband maybe she could dip into her own damn purse for it. (and please no, that money has to come from X, if she wanted to do it, she could do it).
Bluemoonhorse, I didn’t mean *actual* “sexy play time at his age, *shudder* lol, rather he wants to be WITH her in their normal routine of whatever it is they do. And there *are* people out there in their late 90s that are still mobile, walking around, and doing their thing until they drop. Look at Dick Van Dyke, at 94, DANCING still, Carl Reiner just died at 98, tweeting away until literally passing away the same night. What about the QM, she was 104 and while not dancing the night away, she was carrying on public duties until a few months before dying, Anyway…he’s hardly laid out yet. He *has* been pictured in one of those trotting carriages with Penny driving.
As for Petty Betty, she’d never open her personal purse for this. Only moths would fly out if she was asked to. But, I’d bet my last dollar she sure as hell is still paying for Pedo’s bills/expenses.
@TheOG Bush Sr. in a wheelchair was still grabbing at women’s asses.
I might give some credence to this story if it originated anywhere but The Sun or The Daily Fail. Betty made be petty but I highly doubt any reliable source leaked this story. I also believe that few people really know how QEII and Prince Philip feel about things.
I think this story is 99% made up BS to generate revenues.
@BayTampaBay, Totally agree. It is disconcerting that stories that conform to popular opinions on CB (particularly regarding the British royals) are presented and received as if they were 100% accurate, yet question the accuracy (and rightly so) of stories from the same sources if they go against the prevailing opinion here. Not to say that I think that Meghan, in particular, wasn’t treated horribly by the British press, nor am I so naive as to not understand that the various royal household PR people have relationships with members of the RR that they use to their advantage but jeez people, it’s 2020. Facts matter more than ever as does media literacy.
This is so tone deaf, entitled and honestly just mean to expect people to give up a whole month away from their families during christmas season to serve them at the specific location she wants to be at.
Maybe in her world they are just servants, not real people, and so that makes it ok in her mind. This whole monarchy business needs to be re-evaluated because this story is not a good reflection of the institution…
Yes this is exactly what she thinks. The whole premise of royalty is they are ordained by God to be royalty and therefor they are above everyone else. She has lived 94 years believing that and having that reality reflected back at her. I guess we can’t expect her to change now.
This story is from the Sun which also wrote the fake story about Meghan insisting the parking lot at Windsor be moved. Take it with a side eye.
I can believe the Queen wants to go to Sandringham for Christmas, since that’s what she does, and they would make the staff quarantine for it. I don’t necessarily buy that there is a revolt or a mutiny going on etc and that the staff in question are running to the Sun to express their anger.
@Becks1 & Mac – See my post above regarding The Sun and The Daily Fail.
I really hope the Queen over estimates her adoration and attempts to “force” them to isolate and miss their own family for the entire month of December. I hope the staff stages a mass walk out and that’s what starts the abolishment of the monarchy.
It’s 2020. Could happen.
Keep calm and carry on, Lillibet.
So I’ve thought this for some time. Her famous dedication is actually way more about Betty enjoying her routine rather than a sacrifice. Now that she has to actually sacrifice, we’re getting stories about her being furious.
Kate likes cooking. She can make some roast chicken and chutney for all.
It boggles the mind though. Expecting all those people to spend a month in isolation away from their families so Lillibet can have the same Christmas she’s already had for decades?
It’s easy to keep calm and carry on when you never want for anything in life.
Yes, we’ve heard how much Kate loves cooking – this could be her time to shine! And think of all the instagram worthy photos she could get of the kids ‘helping’ her!
I would say its an episode of the Windsors ready to happen, but they already covered this lol.
@Becks1, that was SUCH a good episode!!
Maybe she can use Meghan’s cook book for ideas.
It’s really a shame that no one did this. It’s such an easy “win” for everyone–a way to show Meghan some support as a newcomer and to send a strong message to the media. The story still could have been “Kate is helping Meghan fit in bla bla”, so Kate would still be credited w/being a “leader”. This is such an easy PR move (even if it isn’t completely genuine) that I can only conclude that these people are pure idiots.
imagine being this up your own arse.
The DM moderates comments on every royal story except for those about H&M. This one they let the commenters go wild. That’s telling.
They’ve stuck the knife in a few times now. There was also the Emily Andrews article about the Tatler edits.
They must be pissed about something. Running low on exclusives? Stomping their feet until H&M is stripped of their titles? Regardless, it’s crazy how much influence this trash rag has.
I mean, come on. She is unreasonable.
Yeah, this is not a good look, Petty Betty. Stay in Windsor. I bet its lovely at Christmas.
So do employees from Windsor usually travel to Sandringham with her for Christmas? is that why staying at Windsor would be better – they would still be in the 2 week bubble but not the month bubble over the holidays? Does Sandringham not have a full staff normally, or are they all not working right now? Just trying to figure out how these logistics usually work.
If they want people to take that much time away, make it strictly voluntary, pay them a huge bonus or give them a car or something. No one knows how good or bad this winter will be regarding the virus, and being stuck with grumpy royals denied their usual Xmas pageantry may just not be how most people want to spend their holidays.
I’m sure, somehow, it’s all Meghan’s fault. She suborned all of the staff and told them to Fight the Power. We’ll get a story tomorrow about how last year, Meghan sneezed into an improperly woven handkerchief, hereby breaking protocol for the 873648487498th time.
Pulling back the veil on the royal mystique shows that it’s not terribly mystical over there. For heaven’s sake, someone needs to put Betty out to pasture with the horses. She’s done her duty and served her time. This refusal to step down isn’t noble; it’s selfish at best and dangerous at worst (to the monarchy). Unless she wants the monarchy to die with her.
I so agree with your comments on her refusal to step down.
I remember when I used to just lurk there was this poster who seemed to know a great deal about the royals saying that when the Queen die all heck is going to break loose and it will probably herald the end of the monarchy. She who knew a great deal seems to think that the media was holding back on a lot of information for the sake of the queen. Perhaps they are concerned that if she steps down whatever is expected when she dies will come early.
was it LAK? She did know a lot and I think had a great deal of interaction with the Prince’s Trust so a lot of her knowledge was first hand.
As to the bit about the media holding back – I 100% think that’s true and think that when she dies, there will be a period of mourning/deep respect and then these stories are going to start to come out.
@Becks1 yes it was LAK – thanks for remembering her name, I couldn’t think of it for the life of me. Whether the queen is even still really in charge is anyone’s guess, but whenever talk of stepping down comes up, I think of what LAK used to say. Perhaps she’s just a prop now to give the monarchy legitimacy and keep the media from pouncing too hard.
Yes I remember LAK having a lot of royal knowledge. I think Sixer did too if I’m not mistaken. I agree that there will be a mourning period then the stories will start to leak out – perhaps not so much about the Queen, although I’m sure there will be some, but certainly about the rest of them.
Yet another example of why the monarchy is totally out of touch and ridiculous in this day and age.
And to make matters worse, arent Royal staff paid absolute peanuts or is that just the skilled staff(they take the job just as a stepping stone/good look for their resume) Atleast give them some good incentives for such a sacrifice.
Well, articles about royal finances recently said they were tightening their belts by pay and hiring freezes. Imagine not getting bonus or incentive to do this but being expected to sacrifice your time with family.
I know, right!? I’ve seen those salaries and they’re shockingly low. Especially for those in high profile roles. I get paid more than them! I don’t get it.
Maybe there are tons of perks. I can believe that it would look good on a resume but I wouldn’t stay longer than 2 years if I just saw it as a stepping stone job. Some of those people have been in those jobs for decades.
Is it just about the honor of working for the royal family? It kind of reminds me of when I lived in LA and all of those entertainment industry jobs being so low pay and no benefits but they could get away with it because so many young people were scrambling to get their foot in the door so they put up with it. I did for a while. But since I left, my annual salary has increased by almost 40%. Now I wonder why I put up with such low pay for so long.
@Snuffles do you have a link for their salary scales?
Someone said on another post long ago, that the perk is that is a jump off to a better job. I don’t think that would apply to those cleaning floors and doing laundry but most likely to staff that directly interact with the royal family.
IMO it sounds like a Hell Job.
I think there are a lot of perks that comes with the job and I imagine for many jobs in the entertainment business the same is true. Were you provided a lot of perks? Maybe lots of free stuff, entrance to places you wouldn’t normally be admitted, some people might even enjoy access to famous people.
Yet another example of the royal family completely ruining an excellent PR opportunity. Instead of stories about how the queen wants her staff to isolate themselves from their families over CHRISTMAS, just think about how glowing and regal and wonderful the press coverage would have been if the Queen announced that she was inviting the families of all her staff to her estate so that everyone can celebrate Christmas together, safely. A Christmas for the ages! How noble! How generous! This is why we have a monarchy! Long live the Queen!
I mean, she has the room, and Lord knows they need the PR. But nope, that would never happen because these privileged, pampered bags of air truly believe they are above everyone else and therefore deserve to have their every whim catered to, regardless of how it impacts their ‘subjects’.
I mean, this would never happen because it’s dangerous at worst, reckless at best. Having that many people together may spread the virus even more.
She should have just stay put. No one likes a royal Christmas apparently, so I’m sure no one will feel like they are missing out.
…ok, not worth arguing about but that’s literally the point of quarantining, the idea is that everyone would be tested, quarantined and then isolated together. I mean, if Tyler Perry can do it at his studio so that he can continue production, the queen of england should be able to swing it. It’s not difficult, you just have to actually care.
Obviously this would never happen for a variety of reasons; my point was that, when given the option and all the resources in the world, the royal family always always always chooses the worst possible PR scenario, because they just don’t care.
@ Sunday, I completely get what you are suggesting and with months long notice they could pull it off if considering the staff’s feelings were at all something they would take into consideration. It’s not so this would never happen and if brought up the excuse would be what @Lemons said.
This is coming from the Sun, so are we to believe it?
Whatever. Abolish the monarchy!
It’s The Sun so. But if true it is absolutely ridiculous to take people away from their families for a month. Just stay in Windsor.
The DM is running the article too. I was wondering how long it would take to blame it all on H&M, Meghan in particular but after a bit of a scroll, it happened! It’s all Harry and Meghan’s fault! The monarchy is ending because of them! The irrelevant ones.
“Before Markle came along, this type of news would not have happened nor reported. People are beginning to realize the BRF are entitled. If the story is true, it makes sense why the Queen has not done anything about Harry and Markle. There will be more stories like this ~ it may be the beginning of the end of the monarchy, all started by H and M.”
Well, of course Yankee Meghan started the revolution. Personally, I hope that’s true.
It’s Not Meghan’s fault. The comment saying “it’s the yanks fault” is far from cute. Meghan is simply standing up for herself, the queen may be of major importance to the majority of her people but to most Americans she isn’t really relevant. She is no better than anyone else and perhaps if the people would have called their snobbish, entitled racist arse out years ago this wouldn’t be a situation. Sitting back making excuses for the way they are and the things they do is disgusting. I realize that Many British people find Americans Crass and don’t particularly care for our ( constant reminder from many Brits) Direct approach on matters we disagree with, aren’t accepting and a host of other things. It’s Not MM fault that you’re royals from the top to bottom are a bunch of Lazy, entitled ,racist Arse holes. The British “subjects” have and constantly remind the royals that they are better than everyone else. The royals are no better than anyone else. Stop telling those people their crap doesn’t stink. It Does and there’s a whole lot wrong with those people. Any educated, accomplished woman that knows her worth wouldn’t put up with the hierarchy BS. I don’t think Meghan realized that on top of all the other distasteful things about them, they have the utter audacity to look down on Americans. Meghan’s right to get out, no need to keep putting up with any of the bull crap, they will never like her, being American is another stupid reason for many of the hate filled people
Using H&M to cover for the fact that it’s the pandemic, Brexit and their useless PM and his terrible handling of literally everything that is causing people to wake up.
The BRF is basically a celebrity family and has been since at least the 1980s. Diana, Fergie, Randy Andy…Welcome to the real world where fame meets social media, Betty.
Also, if you aren’t fair to people, they will likely have no qualms about pulling back the century-old drapes on your insulated and privileged little world.
HEATHER C, what do you mean when you say “maybe that’s why the queen hasn’t done anything about Harry and Markel”? Exactly what have Harry and his wife done that’s so wrong? What is it that you think the queen should do? I think she is doing exactly as she should do, have a dam seat. Harry and Meghan are not going to go running back to them, the Sussex are done working for them. All the royals can do is keep spreading lies and rumors as Harry and Meghan continue to ride off in the sunset. Anyone that didn’t realize how entitled that family really is would have to be a fool in denial.
It looks like HeatherC is quoting. Maybe comments on the article?
I was DEFINITELY quoting. It’s why I used quotation marks. It was one of the comments on the Daily Fail website.
Good for Meghan, lol! But they are totally blaming the wrong person. Diana is the one who cracked the royal egg. Once her fairytale blew up that was the beginning of the end. They tried to glue it back together with William and Kate but that’s just not happening. The real fairytale was Harry and Meghan but they kicked them out because they would stand for the abuse. So there you have it. Cry salty tears, Royals!
What an entitled …
…pendajo.
If these are all behind the scenes staff like cleaners then they don’t even interact with her anyway. Wearing a mask indoors and extra cleaning precautions should be enough for them. It’s not like Betty helps them with the laundry or anything like that. Really she’s interacting with relatives who expose themselves far more to the virus by going around without a mask while meeting strangers and only occasionally practicing social distancing. William and Kate are a bigger risk to give her the virus than the people who clean the toilets.
It’s very interesting that this story is being written in the first place though. It must be pretty bad behind the scenes for it to even come out.
I’m sure this is Meghan’s fault somehow, we’ll no doubt hear how she’s to blame any minute now because of course everything that’s wrong with that world is Meghan’s fault according to the BM.
I guess there won’t be 5 changes of outfits on Christmas Day this year. What a tragedy!!! I feel for Petty Betty.
Maybe she can express that same level of outrage about her favourite son.
Gosh, take the year off from your traditions. The rest of the royal family will love getting to stay in their pajamas all morning.
I really hate that whenever Philip dies, there are going to be articles blaming H&M for killing him. Even if it’s in 5 years, someone’s going to say, “the poor man’s dearest wish was to make it into the Guinness book of world records, and Harry’s cruel, unfilial behavior – caused by that American temptress- made him die!” But what is far more likely to hasten his death is moving him around against his will and propping him up for photo ops
Wait, we won’t see the Christmas address in front of the gold piano this year? Whose pictures will she have at her side? Maybe the Cambridge’s could go. They should cook and clean for her. No one else needs to isolate and miss their own families.
They really do multiple changes of wardrobe on Christmas Day? So there’s breakfast, shooting, tea, a turkey for the main meal . . . Picturing their horror as they see what I bring to the table, menudo, tamales, biscochos. 😂
@Beech
annnnnd what time will we be eating???? because I am ALWAYS down for tamales, menudo and biscochos
Can’t granny betty move in with penis with teeth and the maniacal grinner? surely the staff at Kensington can handle one additional guest. Sometimes family has to pony up and support each other.
Should be Charles. It’s his job to care for the monarchy, wouldn’t that include taking care of the monarch? I wonder how Camilla would feel about hosting the cranky m-i-l over Christmas.
I mean, edward, Ann, Andrew? bueller? bueller? anyone? how can no one want to host their mother for the hols that she has to spend it with her staff? lol
Royal Blue, you made me spit my soda everywhere. Thanks for the laugh.
i cackled as i thought of it. but seriously, if it were me i would stuff her in the sussexes former nottingham cottage.
I bet a lot of these rich and famous folks are doing similar things. Making their nannies, chefs, and maids live with them through this pandemic. You think the Kardashians are doing their own cooking/cleaning/childcare lol? Yeah right. It’s awful but these people don’t lift a finger.
Or they told them, “if you don’t stay here you cant work, but you don’t get paid” and made it a non-choice.
Yup !
Go apply for unemployment. Plain and simple. It would give Will and possibly a few other family members a reason to be incandescent with rage. Let him explode.
Should be interesting to see how this falls out.
The Windsors have a custom of always spending Christmas at Sandringham and there is a little superstitious custom that goes along with that: everyone has to be outside of it before the end of New Year’s Eve, standing around I guess and looking back at the house.
If anyone is still inside when the New Year begins, that’s supposed to be bad luck.
Hmmmmmmm
Why would she need to bring them with her at all? Don’t they already have staff at Sandringham? I would think there would be housekeepers and gardeners at all of the properties taking care of them year-round even if the Queen isn’t there.
It’s the Sun and the Fail so the stories are probably 99.9% crap.
BUTTTT the real story is that this is even a story, I have seen more and more here and there but There have been snipes at the queen lately. That NEVER used to happen