Still too white: Royal House falls short in targeting personnel diversity

Plans to increase diversity in the royal household have stalled in the past year.

In the wake of the royal racial squabble, following allegations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, officials vowed to increase the proportion of ethnic minority workers and raise awareness and training, both in person and online.

But last year, the rate held steady for the second year in a row at 9.7 percent, just short of the original target of 10 percent.

Nevertheless, the palace has now set itself a new target that 14 percent of the employees must be of immigrant origin.

More encouragingly, just over 12 percent of BAME employees hold senior positions, including the powerful Lord Chamberlain’s Committee.

The Palace insists participation in their training program, while largely voluntary, is “some of the best we’ve had.”

But they admit they want to do better and are willing to be ‘held accountable’ for their lack of rapid progress.

A senior official said yesterday: ‘Your Majesty and His Majesties and other members of the Royal Family have always promoted and embraced the diversity of our nation. It is therefore important that our own workforce reflects the communities we serve.

“We recognize that we are not where we need to be. We recognize that we need to do more. And we expect you to ask these questions… and hold us accountable for the progress, or lack of progress, we’ve made.”

He said the situation had been further complicated by the change of government and the merging of two households and their staff.

Buckingham Palace said it was developing its recruitment practices to ensure its ‘culture is inclusive’ and that its employer brand is ‘open, engaged and promotes real opportunities for a broad core of people’.

“This is in line with another of His Majesty’s clear leadership priorities, which is to support, encourage and provide opportunities for people from diverse communities,” said Sir Michael Stephens.

In the aftermath of the royal racial squabble, following allegations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, officials vowed to increase the proportion of ethnic minority workers and raise awareness and training

Kensington Palace revealed yesterday that 16.3 percent of its workforce belong to an ethnic minority and 64 percent of its staff are women

Kensington Palace announced yesterday that 16.3 percent of its workforce belong to an ethnic minority and that 64 percent of its staff are women.

Officials published details of the gender pay gap for the first time, saying it had narrowed from 8.6 percent to 5.7 percent year-on-year, against a national average of nearly 15 percent, with gender parity in terms of the total workforce.

But there was one notable sore point: The Queen’s female private secretary — her chief of staff, in effect — earned less than half of her male counterpart who works for the King.

According to the annual accounts, Sophie Densham earned the equivalent of £90-95,000 a year compared to Sir Clive Alderton, who earned £205-210,000.

One official said this was because she was previously a non-executive member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Committee and had a smaller budget and staff.