#palace staff

[elf-kid2]

Alright, I know there are bigger things to think about, but LOOK AT THIS!

This is the first time we've EVER seen Stella wearing anything less than a full ballgown. Also, note the fact that she and her brother are both still wearing their crowns, even while doing an at-home spa-day thing.

Now, regarding the staff-- Three of these people worked for Stolas & Stella.

The forth imp present is from Andrealphus's staff.

They've all had their uniforms updated to suite Andrealphus's recent rise to power. And they're all looking VERY STRESSED, right now!

We've talked before about how Stolas's treatment of his staff... could be better.

We've also talked about how Stolas most likely did his best to moderate Stella's temper-- either through appeasement, or through making himself her main target, or both-- mostly for the sake of protecting Octavia.

But now, the ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD has to deal with Stella and Andrealphus encouraging and escalating each other's problematic tendancies, without Stolas there to act as a buffer.

Seriously, the way the Butler's eyes are darting around, the look on his face-- I'm not sure we've EVER seen him this stressed before! Even when his Boss was having a very loud emotional crisis and hiding in the FRIDGE, he wasn't this stressed out!

Done with the melodramatic royal bullshit making a mess, but not that legit scared for his life kinda stressed!

Now let's remember, these people have had a front-row seat for everything going on with their employers-- Stolas & Stella's trashfire marriage. Stella's extremely open disdain for her (now-EX) husband. Stolas's affair, and how it escalated from a monthly booty-call, to the current situation...

Also. I want to mention the fact that Stolas's ongoing attempts to reach Octavia throughout the month are the only proof she has that he's still alive, after having been banished & left with only the clothes on his back.

Again. The nobility only know that Stolas is still alive because Stella won't stop gossiping about his hilarious attempts to call & talk to his daughter.

I'm hoping that we get to see some stuff from the perspective of the Imp Staff at the Palace. If not in canon, then in fanfic. Because they know ALL the gossip, and I'm very curious about what the situation looks like-- what BLITZ looks like-- from their point of view.

[houseofbrat]

The Sun in summer 2022:

The Cambridges' new pad Adelaide Cottage needs no extra taxpayer-funded security or costly refurb. It's understood the family will have no live-in staff, with any aides commuting to Windsor instead. And sources say they dream of a "modest" home with a garden so the children can play outside together. One insider told The Sun: “They were adamant they didn’t want anything too showy or anything that needed renovating or extra security so as not to be a burden on the taxpayer." The property was modernised back in 2015.

The Daily Mail in June 2022:

Prince William and Kate Middleton will move their family into a four-bedroomed home on the Windsor estate this summer. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are reportedly set to uproot their family from Kensington, west London, to Adelaide Cottage in Berkshire in order to be closer to the Queen. Re-erected in 1831, the Cambridge’s new Grade II-listed retreat is just a short walk from St George’s Chapel and Windsor Castle, and sits proudly on the 655-acre royal estate in Berkshire.

Victoria Ward for The Telegraph on 14 August 2022:

But in the coming two or three weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will do the opposite, swapping their grand Kensington Palace home for a relatively modest four-bedroomed cottage on the Windsor estate, a move that will see them navigate life without a live-in nanny for their first time in their children’s lives. [...] Although Ms Borrallo will be kept on full time, she will live elsewhere, as will the handful of other support staff that have long “lived-in” with the family at Kensington Palace, thought to include a housekeeper and a chef.

The Sun on 03 September 2022:

“They had to have moved in this weekend, because the children have to start at their new school next week. “The renovation is no-frills, by royal standards — and is certainly in stark contrast to the £2.4million work Harry and Meghan had done on Frogmore Cottage. It will have been a builder’s finish.” Kate and William spent around a year searching for a home in Windsor so the children could go to school together. They settled on Adelaide Cottage, as first revealed by The Sun, because they believed it needed no major renovations. They decided to go with existing furniture and fittings but had a fresh coat of paint to make it feel like home for the children.

LESS THAN TWO YEARS LATER...

The Mirror on 15 April 2024:

Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly hatching surprise plans to transform a secret home into something of a sanctuary as part of the Princess's recovery process. The Royal couple is said to be contemplating renovations and extensions to a little-known redbrick annexe adjacent to their Adelaide Cottage residence in Windsor. The family, who relocated to the Berkshire estate towards the end of summer 2022, currently divide their time between the four-bedroom cottage and their cherished Anmer Hall retreat on the Sandringham Estate. While Adelaide Cottage offers an ideal location due to its closeness to Lambrook School where Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis attend, insiders suggest the family are considering plans to expand a currently vacant annexe to assist in the princess' recuperation. However, this decision is not without its challenges, as sources indicate that the Prince of Wales is "conscious of public scrutiny" regarding Royal expenditure and is taking a cautious approach to personally funding the costs. "They [William and Kate] absolutely adore Adelaide Cottage, but it just about fits the entire family, whereas Anmer Hall is much larger with extensive grounds," the source revealed to OK!. "Adelaide Cottage is being used as a term time property while the children are at school nearby and Anmer Hall is for long weekends and holidays." Insiders have spilled the beans on plans to revamp a run-down redbrick annexe at Adelaide Cottage, aiming to turn it into a perfect retreat for the Wales family and their aides. While the project is on pause as the Princess of Wales focuses on her recovery, the plans are reportedly simmering away in the background, ready to spring into action when the time is ripe. "Nobody knows that there is quite a spacious red-brick annexe building that's not being used next door to Adelaide Cottage," an insider said. "It's currently inhabitable and needs extensive renovation works if it were to be used. Discussions have been ongoing for a while about using the property as part of the overall cottage grounds, but it's just about finding the right time to kick the project off." The need for space is more than a luxury; sources say it's vital for Kate's path to wellness, providing her with a serene environment to manage her treatment's demands. Anmer Hall is the top pick at the moment, thanks to its generous size and seclusion. Mindful of past backlash over public funding, the Wales clan is considering footing the bill for the Adelaide Cottage annexe's refurbishments themselves. "William is very conscious of the public scrutiny over the Royal Family's spending habits, so he is looking at the best way to cover any renovation costs," a source revealed. "It's a project that's very much been put on the back burner for now due to the family's unfortunate position, but it will be looked at again when the time is right." Adelaide Cottage, tucked away in the Crown Estate's private 655-acre Royal park, was originally constructed in 1831 as a sanctuary for the wife of King William IV, Queen Adelaide. The cottage underwent significant refurbishments in 2015 and boasts some seriously opulent decor. It's said that the master bedroom's ceiling is adorned with gilded dolphins and rope ornamentation, according to various reports.

Well, well, well...

Adelaide Cottage "just about fits the entire family."

"Just about" but not quite, apparently.

Is four bedrooms no longer enough? It was perfectly fine two years ago when they selected it as it "needed no major renovations."

But Kate needs this annex renovation completed for her "path to wellness"? I've never heard of a person undergoing "preventative chemotherapy" needing extensive renovations to their personal real estate to improve their health, particularly when they already have above average living space.

There is a time limit to "preventative chemotherapy." She shouldn't need to be doing "preventative chemotherapy" forever. If she's just doing "preventative chemotherapy," then she should be able to recover within a few weeks after she completes "preventative chemotherapy." (Unless she's really not doing "preventative chemotherapy" to begin with...)

But, hey, if she needs more "space" at home for non-"luxury" reasons, then The Mirror is supporting my previous statement that Kate "is going to be more reclusive for the next year or two."

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Coming up with ways for Jango to have way too many sons in aus is kinda fun tbh. I know the most common thing is just for him to have a big family and that's fine but ideally could be way weirder. Maybe all the sperm at the sperm bank got swapped with Jango's and there's a nationwide epidemic of mini Jangos. Maybe someone discovered a compound full of a hundred of boys in the desert in idk Nevada or somewhere and only the first ten or whatever even have birth certificates and they're all 'homeschooled' (badly) and it gets a lot of press and everyone has a lot of questions, such as "what the fuck?" and also perhaps "how?". Maybe there was an actual secret cloning project not unlike canon but it's in a modern au.

[hanakihan]

listen I’ve been plagued by idea of Apothecary Diaries AU and Rook is MaoMao you need to see my vision—

[sulkybender]

Idea if I could draw: Zuko-style wanted poster for Izumi, and she's just a kid and her glasses are askew and she's holding frogs

[discordiansamba]

If this hasn't been asked already: Suki Zuko twin AU for the headcanon thing? :)

your wish is my command!

when they were young, right after zuko learned he was a firebender and suki started having nightmares about zuko being taken away, they'd fall asleep holding each others hands. it worked to keep suki's nightmares at bay. they don't do it anymore... except every once in a blue moon.

he might rise with the sun, but this zuko has a consistent sleep schedule and takes pretty good care of himself overall. the power that strong familial and community bonds has. he's still extremely reckless, however.

becoming a prince means having to spend hours studying all things fire nation- from its history to its economy to its culture. it means countless etiquette lessons. it means having to wear clothes he's not used to, and being expected to speak politely. it's a lot.

so iroh will not begrudge him when he and suki sneak back to kyoshi island to participate in the island's festival days. they both put kyoshi island blue back on and let themselves just be kyoshi islanders again.

suki in the fire nation palace. what will she do. wind up on the palace's training grounds asking for sparring matches a lot. woe betide you if you underestimate the prince's non-bending twin sister.

[sokka-with-his-hair-down]

ahhhHHH newlywed zukka. oh my GOD they would be so obnoxious. can u even IMAGINE

[taw-k]

What's the most "HE WOULD NOT DO/SAY THAT" Loki take you have?

[pcktknife]

if I'm being honest palace/theme park/beach were all bogus options to me I wouldn't really want any of them all to myself

[antidotefortheawkward-art]

Sun Wukong's assorted lingpai (mandate tokens)

[ID: 1) An illustration of the two sides of a mostly rectangular lingpai made of wood. One side reads "令" and the other reads "弼马温", both written in seal script. The bottom of the lingpai is adorned by horses facing outwards, clouds by their feet.

2) An illustration of the two sides of a stone lingpai shaped mostly like a rectangle, but flared at the top and bottom. One side reads "令" and the other reads "美猴王", both written in seal script. The top of the lingpai is adorned with a dragon-pearl surrounded by flames and clouds. The bottom is adorned with mountains, the sea, and coral. The borders of both the top and bottom are decorated with clouds and flowers. The top is swirled in a way that resembles a lingzhi or a ruyi.

3) An illustration of the two sides of a red jade lingpai, shaped mostly like a rectangle but with a curved top. One side reads "令" and the other reads "齐天大圣", both written in seal script. The top of the lingpai is adorned by a ruyi with a flower and mountain at its center. Below the ruyi is a lotus flower, which sits on top of the forehead of a Yazi carving. Clouds extend out from either side of Yazi and below him are flowers. The two sides of the lingpai have the carvings of cloud pillars wrapped in a stylized waterfall. At the bottom are clouds which could also be the foam from the waterfall. Lotuses float atop this foam/these clouds. At the center of the bottom is a mountain with a ruyi at its foot. This ruyi also has a flower within it.

4) The lineart for the three lingpai, with accompanying commentary. The one labeled "BiMaWen" reads "carved and burned wood," "simple, only horses and clouds," and "ornamental, basically no power." The one labeled "Beautiful Monkey King" reads "carved from a chunk of Sun Wukong's stone egg," "customized from Ao family royal lingpai template," and "mostly sea, cloud, and dragon pearl imagery." The one labeled "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" reads "carved from red jade," "fully custom, in style of an emperor's lingpai but HuaGuo," and "flowers, waterfalls, mountains, ruyi, Yazi, and clouds imagery." At the side are simple doodles of the three lingpai. The first is light brown with a yellow cord, captioned "simple cord, no tassel." The second is grey with a red cord and tassel, captioned "silk cord and tassel." The third is red with a red cord and tassel, captioned "braided cord," "jade and gold accented." End ID]

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

I want a fic where Athy and Jennette grow up in the Ruby Palace together but I want them to witness all the drinking and the orgies and the murder of the concubines and servants and see how that shapes their relationship

[musclesandhammering]

I like the idea of pre-canon Loki being an icon to asgardian minority groups.

Like, the queer community in Asgard? Love him to death. Particularly the trans community. They look up to them so hard.

Little asgardian girls hero-worshipping loki in her female form, because not only is she a female warrior who reminds them of a Valkyrie, but she’s also a sorcerer and a princess.

Asgardians who don’t fit the traditional asgardian standard of beauty being obsessed with Loki cause he looks nothing like his family or the people around him but he’s still confident and hot as hell.

Asgardian witches (independent magic users) after centuries of persecution suddenly feeling so seen and represented because there’s a witch in the royal family (Frigga doesn’t count, she works for the government).

Asgardian commoners feeling slightly less invisible because the younger prince is kind to them and spends more time mingling in the smaller villages than the rest of the royal family who hang out in the palace.

Non-Asgardians who have been wary of Asgard because of their suffocating military presence for eons, feeling just a tiny bit more at ease because the second prince likes sneaking off-world and exploring other realms and meeting other people all the time.

After the truth about his heritage comes out sometime post-TDW, non-Asgardians living in Asgard (like Hogun for example) feel oddly comforted by the fact that a member of a persecuted race is part of the ruling family.

[houseofbrat]

Charles Philip Arthur George is already officially the King of the United Kingdom, and so the coronation is not so much like an inauguration as a religious service, representing the blessing of the Church of England. But this day, Saturday, May 6th, is so much more. King Charles faces the daunting task of restructuring an institution whose predecessor was in place for 70 years. The question of what will change at Court, and how, remains to be seen. But, here is a snapshot of the inner workings of the Royal Household and who actually calls the shots.

While the United Kingdom isn’t quite the empire it once was, it still takes a lot of woman and man power to rule Britannia. On the royal side, that means an army of over 500 staffers. Charles III is the head of his court, as was the late Queen. Theoretically, he is consulted and—we assume—deferred to; at the very least his wishes are anticipated and acted upon. In reality, the cards are held by the Royal Household—or Households. There are lots of royals and lots of houses. The main household consists of the Private Secretary’s Office, the Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Office, the Master of the Household’s Department, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, and the Royal Collection Trust.

Although, in theory, the Lord Chamberlain is the senior courtier, the Private Secretary really runs the show. He is the equivalent to the Chief of Staff in the United States—the gatekeeper who controls access to the Monarch. (Sir Edward Young served the late Queen for nearly 20 years, the last five as Private Secretary; contrast that with Trump who ran through four Chiefs of Staff in four years; Biden is on his second after two.) Currently, the King is being advised by his Private Secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, together with Sir Edward who, as is traditional, is staying on until after the coronation to help with the handover.

The role includes overseeing the monarch’s program of engagements and important correspondence, liaising with key figures in national life, and working with the Prime Minister’s closest advisor.

Yet all the sovereign’s public actions and speeches are guided by the Prime Minister. Hence, for example, in her brief tenure of office, Liz Truss advised the new King not to attend Cop27 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference) and so he did not go. It is the PM, not the monarch, who decides who will pay a state visit to the UK, which explains why, over the years, the Queen was obliged to entertain disagreeable heads of state such as President Mobutu of Zaire in 1973 and President Ceaușescu of Romania in 1978.  

Moreover, the Private Secretary must, in a sense, be the carrot and the stick when getting officials to behave as a monarch requires. When, in the 1960s, Labour Lord President of the Council Richard Crossman told Sir Michael Adeane (Queen Elizabeth’s Private Secretary for 19 years) he had no wish to attend the State Opening of Parliament, Adeane slyly told him that was fine, saying all he had to do was to write to the Queen and tell her he would not be there. He added: “Of course, the Queen has as strong a dislike of public ceremonies as you do. I don’t disguise from you the fact that it will certainly occur to her to ask herself why you should be excused when she has to go, since you’re both officials.” Crossman attended, of course; having been shamed into what he considered to be drudgery in the nicest possible way.

Private Secretaries also have an important role as speechwriters. Sir Martin Charteris was known for being remarkably clever in this arena. At a Guildhall luncheon celebrating the Queen’s silver wedding in 1972, she said, “When the bishop was asked what he thought about sin, he replied with simple conviction that he was against it. If I am asked today what I think about family life after 25 years of marriage, I can answer with equal simplicity and conviction. I am for it.” Sometimes Sir Martin could be seen in the background slapping his knee and laughing as the Queen delivered a line he himself had written.

The Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Department are, essentially, Keepers of the Wallet. The Household receives an annual Sovereign Grant from the Treasury—currently £86.3m (over $100 million US)—to fund its activities, and it is the responsibility of this department to manage how those pounds are spent. The Keeper of the Privy Purse is a man of influence since he must make sure the Royal Household runs efficiently. Perhaps the most pro-active—some might say ruthless—Keeper was Sir Michael Peat, who, during his tenure as Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen, examined every aspect of the royal finances, and generally streamlined the Household. It was said that where a job was done by three people, he made the same be done by two. So consider the Keeper the McKinsey Consultants of the Royal structure: unpopular and unwanted, but sometimes very much needed.

The Lord Chamberlain’s Department handles events such as royal weddings and funerals, state visits, investitures, and garden parties. One might argue that the experts in public protocol, the protectors of pomp and circumstance, are critical in making the Royal Family what it is; they are, in effect, the institution in charge of branding. They need to be alert to diplomatic matters—and recently their placing of European monarchs behind the British Royal Family at Prince Philip’s memorial service and President Biden likewise out of view at the Queen’s state funeral certainly raised some eyebrows.

The Master of the Household is chief of all the domestic staff—housekeepers, chefs, upholsterers, footmen, porters and pages, through to the superintendents of Windsor Castle and other royal residences. The Master’s purview extends to The Royal Mews, which deals with royal transport, cars (there is a vast fleet of state cars), horses, and carriages (again a great number, ranging from the Gold State Coach to barouches and Ascot landaus). They are featured in processions and events such as the Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour)—overseen by the Crown Equerry, and at ceremonial level by the Master of the Horse.

Individual royals have their own households, with their own power bases. The Queen Mother had her own court based at Clarence House. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, had his own household—and so does Camilla, the Queen Consort, now that Charles has succeeded to the throne.

These households varied enormously in their order and style, reflective of the style and way of operating of the member of the Royal Family. When in operation, the Duke of Edinburgh’s office, for example, was a highly efficient organisation. Once, when appointing a new Private Secretary, Prince Philip wrote to him aware that he might be concerned that there were “stuffed shirts” at the Palace. “I expect all sorts of visions of court life and behaviour are looming up. Forget them. The people who matter in the organisation are perfectly normal, decent human beings with whom you would not have the slightest difficulty. Naturally there are one or two stiffs, but you get them in every racket, as you know… You must appreciate that the Queen’s household is an entirely separate organisation.”

He went on to say he employed a head of household, a private secretary, a service equerry, two extra equerries for when they were required, a chief clerk, five female typists, a policeman and a driver. “It’s a small party but they are busy and therefore happy.”

The Queen Mother’s household was Edwardian by contrast. Private Secretary Sir Martin Gilliat ran the show in eccentric style. There were frequent breaks for tea and alcohol. Gilliat once saved a rather tricky occasion by reminding the King of Siam that he knew he could stand on his head. The King obliged and after that the party went swimmingly.

In New Zealand, when the Queen Mother boarded a train, he announced: “Now we must get out the automatic arm.” The Lady in Waiting on the tour, new to the household, was astonished. “Well,” he said, “you can’t expect the Queen Mother to wave the entire time, so we have this arm.” She believed him.  (And in fact, when one thinks about it, this would be a highly useful device to this day.)

Sir Martin’s counterpart at Clarence House was the Treasurer,  Sir Ralph Anstruther, a stickler for decorum and tradition, who frequently berated young equerries for sartorial failures and reported them for bad behavior. He demanded that those in attendance on the Queen Mother for visits to places like Smithfield Market wear a bowler hat and carry a furled umbrella. He himself wore a stiff collar whenever the court was in London—even if he wasn’t going out.

Both the Queen and the Queen Mother had long serving ladies-in-waiting, one of whom was always in attendance. Some of these were personal friends; they were all ladies from a particular class. They were “wingwomen,” on hand at public engagements, alert to any need the Queen or Queen Mother might have. They also dealt with correspondence from the general public. If, for example, the Queen Mother got an unwanted letter from someone, she might be tempted to write: “Him again!” on a letter. A lady-in-waiting would translate that sentiment to: “Her Majesty was grateful to receive your further letter…”

The Queen Mother’s page, William Tallon, was there from the moment she appeared in the morning until the minute she retired at night. He saw his role as to keep her smiling and put guests at their ease. He was also a wizard with a drink. Of him it was said, “No use putting your hand over your glass, he pours it through the fingers.” He knew the Queen Mother for over 50 years, and they talked of many things, yet never once did he sit down in her presence. He had his own court rules. The Ladies in Waiting got tea and cakes, the lady clerks only tea.

As Prince of Wales, Charles’s office often conflicted with his mother’s household. He employed figures such as Commander Richard Aylard and Mark Bolland, who were active in the media, spinning in what they considered his best interests, sometimes against other members of the family. Bolland was particularly effective in manoeuvring the public image of Camilla Parker Bowles from one of hated mistress to supportive wife.

Other members of the Royal Family—Princess Anne, Prince Edward, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael—have their own staff, but these defer to Buckingham Palace.

As of the writing of this article, the structure of the various royal households is still very much in flux. Most members of the Royal Family have their own Households/power centers at various homes and estates (though Prince Andrew has lost his at Buckingham Palace.)

King Charles is known to want to streamline the monarchy and informalize the throne. For example, he will almost certainly not make Buckingham Palace his home, preferring Clarence House (and helped by the Palace undergoing extensive restoration). As he settles into his new role as sovereign, it remains to be seen just how much that shake up may alter what has been a tradition for hundreds of years. Will royal insiders be rattled, or entirely unfazed? We will see what happens to those amongst the courtiers who have what is commonly known as “red carpet fever”—the tendency to take the dealings of the Royal Family just a little too seriously.

[akumanoken]

sorry no thought head empty fuck you fuji

[katrani]

Ukogi!!! That's the attendant's name, of course.

This sequence is some more lore to finish settling us in, but Ukogi adds a level of energy to this one that is sorely needed after the tension of the rest of the episode so far. Love "oh! that story that put me to sleep" "Lady are you asleep??!!!!!" it's such a basic bit but it still makes me laugh. As does the "this is war!!!!!!" accompanied with getting all up in her space.

I cut out some stuff about what each land is supposed to have as its focus, but from East and going clockwise it's flowers, fruits, rice, and water. I don't think that really comes into play but noting it just in case.

But if everyone takes pride, just why is Asebi so unprepared? Not even under prepared, straight up not at all. Even if she was a last-minute replacement (since she's a second daughter, though Shiratama throws a lot of that thinking for a loop), surely there was travel time where Ukogi could have filled her in about this?

I think/hope this is the last big lore dump of the episode? It's gonna depend on if the Prince's brother got introduced here or in ep 2.

But I do worry I'm getting close to the photo limit so! I'll do the rest of the episode some other day, thank you everyone for joining me here!

[random-fandom-society]

Everyone’s hearts as one has given Sniff the chicken nuggest courtesy of Snufkin who stole them