I absolutely know butlers that ended up marrying housekeepers—it is completely possible. Another, who was left in charge of the estate when his boss was out of town on business, invited around a group of local girls, pretending the property was his house. Unfortunately for them, the boss arrived back early and found them all in the swimming pool. Needless to say, they were all sent packing. He also revealed an occasion when they all went riding and ran into the Queen.
Understandably, co-workers become close friends and sometimes these relationships can progress to something more. Just like Carson and Mrs.
Hughes, romances within households still occur today. Naturally, serving as a trusted member of a private home means being privy to the family secrets. Butlers and housekeepers often have the inside scoop on offshore bank accounts and business deals, not to mention the strange and weird fetishes of their employers. These days Harrold runs his own traditional butler school with Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia at estates across the U.
Does keeping quiet mean modern household staff are being asked to sign NDAs? For Lord and Lady Carnarvon at Highclere, there is definitely less of a hierarchy between them and their staff. Geordie and I lead from the front and I try to share and ask for thoughts on what we are doing and we discuss it so we are more on the same page.
My approach is how to help create a happy atmosphere, varied and make sure people feel valued. Working for the same family for years, sometimes decades, means that staff are often considered to be extended family members. And Harrold reveals there is truth in the depiction of that relationship. She was a baby when I was there and I saw her grow up. Please try again later or using a different browser. Clinton, Sanders spar over specifics in Iowa.
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One of my previous employers instructed his pilot to hide a whole leg of Parma ham and several Sicilian air-dried sausages by sitting on them while the aircraft was inspected by US customs. How does it work now? Palaces and embassies play their part in training staff, but grand hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants are also responsible for providing the industry with new recruits. And people still start as bellhops or kitchen porters.
I know of one gentleman, Raja, a Jordanian with no formal education, who started work in a Five-Star hotel in Amman as a bellboy. Twenty years later, after a lot of hard work and a hell of a lot of determination—mixed with infectious enthusiasm for his job—he is now a palace manager in Saudi Arabia. Obviously, a butler on an estate in the s and s would often have his job for life.
Is there more turn-around now than there was back in the day? It is unusual for staff to stay beyond 10 years, but it must also be remembered that few if any employers in the U. How realistic is Downton Abbey in its depiction of these relationships?
The Downton Abbey phenomenon has made the wealthy in places like China strive to adopt the customs shown in the show. But it turns out that modern day versions of Carson, Mrs. Hughes and the rest of the staff at Downton Abbey still exist today.
Many of the great houses of England prevail though they are as likely to be occupied by international billionaires with superyachts as they are by aristocrats. Employers generally prefer their butlers to be single. If a butler lies about being married he can be dismissed without notice. It is also essential not to become too friendly with the other servants in your household in order to maintain an air of authority. And although those butlers do still exist, times have changed.
You might be surprised to hear it, but a Butler is still very relevant in modern society. They might look a little different, and have some different tasks. But the heart and soul of old fashioned butlering is, and will remain always there.
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