William and Kate’s housekeeper quits
THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s housekeeper has quit – but yesterday denied reports it was because the job is too demanding.
Sadie Rice, 35, revealed she is taking up a new job in London after nearly two years working for William, 34, and Kate, 35.
A source suggested Ms Rice’s workload was increasing and the demands had “got too much”. She was responsible for cleaning, laundry, shopping and some cooking at the royal couple’s 10-bedroom home at Anmer Hall, Norfolk.
In Facebook posts she confirmed she was leaving her £35,000-a-year role. But she told friends and family she was not quitting because it was too demanding and was instead taking up a new job in the capital.
Ms Rice joined the Duke and Duchess’s staff in 2015 after spending five years working for Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit in Oslo.
She is said to be popular with Prince George, three, and two-yearold Princess Charlotte.
A source at the Queen’s nearby Sandringham estate had previously suggested the workload was responsible for the change. “Sadie’s a hard worker but the job’s demands got too much, even for her,” the source was reported as saying.
“They wanted her to spend more time at Kensington Palace and her work was increasing all the time.
“She wasn’t having a normal life outside work. Sadie’s serving her notice and it seems nothing will change her mind. It’s their loss.
“They will regret losing Sadie as the right people aren’t easy to find.” The royal couple have been hiring more staff as they prepare to move to Kensington Palace in London and take on more royal duties after the Duke finishes work as an air ambulance pilot this autumn.
Emma Boyce, 35, who worked for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for a decade, was hired as a second housekeeper at Anmer Hall.
A Sandringham insider said: “She is very popular and George and Charlotte get on well with her and her kids, she has a boy and a girl.
“When William and Kate first got married they wanted a small staff and do everything themselves.
“But the Queen kept telling them that they needed more staff and that they were being unrealistic.”
A Kensington Palace spokeswoman would not comment.