http://clients.westminster-digital.co.uk/royal/TheRoyalHouseholdBB.wvx
Transcript:
The Royal Household is structured into five departments. Whilst some have traditional titles, they all strive to operate in a modern, forward thinking way, using modern working practices.
The Private Secretary's Office advises The Queen on constitutional matters, organises Her Majesty's programme and oversees media affairs.
The Privy Purse and Treasurer's Office is responsible for the administration of the Royal Household, and includes sections such as finance, personnel, property and IT.
The Master's Department oversees domestic and entertainment arrangements for events such as State banquets, official receptions and garden parties.
The Lord Chamberlain's Office is responsible for ceremonial events and protocol, and includes the Royal Mews with its horses and carriages.
The Royal Collection is responsible for the management and maintenance of all items held by The Queen on behalf of the State, and also for overseeing public access to Royal residences and galleries.
The Queen and other members of the Royal Family are personally supported by their own private offices, Ladies-in-Waiting and Equerries.
The Royal Household operates from a number of residences. Wherever they are based, Royal Household staff aim to give exceptional support to The Queen to enable her to serve the nation and her people in the best possible way.
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The departments are the Private Secretary's Office, the Master of the Household's Department, the Privy Purse and Treasurer's Office, the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and the Royal Collection Department.
These functions originated in the Royal Court, developing in form over the centuries. For this reason, the departments and many jobs have ancient and sometimes quirky titles, although the jobs themselves require contemporary professional skills.
Most of the departments are based in Buckingham Palace, although there are also offices in St. James's Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Mews.
Members of the Royal Household also travel with The Queen on overseas visits and during The Queen's stays at Balmoral Castle and Sandringham, since the work of the Head of State continues even when she is away from London.
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The Lord Chamberlain is the senior official of the Royal Household.
His role is to oversee the conduct and general business of the Royal Household and to be a source and focal point for important matters which have implications for the Household as a whole. His role is non-executive and the post is part-time.
His specific responsibilities are: chairing meetings of Heads of Departments (the Lord Chamberlain's Committee) and generally being available for consultation with Heads of Departments; close involvement with all senior appointments; and undertaking ceremonial duties as required. He is also the channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords.
On ceremonial occasions the Lord Chamberlain carries a white staff and a key, the symbols of his office.
The staff is symbolically broken over the grave of a deceased Sovereign, which means that the Household is dissolved.
The position of Lord Chamberlain dates from the Middle Ages, when the King's Chamberlain often acted as the King's spokesman in Council and Parliament.
Until 1924, the appointment was a political one; today, the Lord Chamberlain does not participate in political activities.
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One of The Queen's red boxes containing official papers is prepared
The Private Secretary's Office is responsible for supporting The Queen in her duties as Head of State.
The Private Secretary is the channel of communication between the Head of State and the Government, not only in the United Kingdom but also in the 15 other realms of which The Queen is Sovereign.
The Private Secretary informs and advises The Queen on constitutional, governmental and political matters in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
He or she liaises with the Armed Forces, the Church and the many organisations of which The Queen is patron.
Other responsibilities include organising The Queen's official programme at home and overseas; liaising with the Households of other members of the Royal Family; and dealing with The Queen's official correspondence and correspondence with members of the public.
The Private Secretary prepares The Queen's speeches and messages, and his office arranges photographs and official presents, portraits and messages of congratulation.
The Private Secretary organises and co-ordinates Royal travel through the Royal Travel Office, which is administered by the Director of Royal Travel.
The Private Secretary is also the Keeper of the Royal Archives, which are responsible for filing and cataloguing the personal and official correspondence of former Sovereigns. The earliest papers date back to 1760.
The position of Private Secretary dates from the late nineteenth century, although George III and his two successors each had a private secretary for particular reasons. The Private Secretary currently has a Deputy Private Secretary and an Assistant Private Sectretary. There is always one Private Secretary on duty wherever The Queen is in residence.
The Co-ordination and Research Unit (CRU) within the Private Secretary's Office researches and plans programmes for members of the Royal Family, ensuring that invitations are given due consideration, planning special 'theme days' for The Queen (such as the recent days centred on the UK design industry and emergency services) and ensuring that full coverage of the United Kingdom is achieved in engagements.
Buckingham Palace Press Office is also part of the Private Secretary's Office. Dating from the reign of George III, the Press Office deals with press and broadcasting matters on behalf of The Queen and other members of the Royal Family. The Press Office also maintains the Royal web site and has a public information officer to handle information enquiries from the general public.
Ladies-in-waiting and equerries are also members of the Private Secretary's Office.
Ladies-in-waiting are appointed personally by The Queen and other female members of the Royal Family to accompany them on public engagements.
They often deal with the flowers, cards and presents which The Queen and other members of the Royal Family receive during their visits and walkabouts. They also deal with The Queen's private correspondence and reply to letters from children.
The Equerry to The Queen supports Her Majesty in her official duties and private life, as a member of a small team responsible for the detailed planning and execution of The Queen's daily programme.
The Equerry is seconded from the Armed Forces for three years, with each Service taking its turn. The Equerry wears uniform during The Queen's daytime engagements when they are in personal attendance on The Queen.
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The long table in St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle is polished before a State banquet
The Master of the Household's Department is the largest in the Royal Household, with a staff of over 250.
The department covers a huge range of skills and professions - chefs, sommeliers, events planners, specialist furniture craftsmen, pages and footmen, and housekeepers.
The Master of the Household's Department is responsible for arranging hospitality for all guests visiting the Royal residences, as well as for members of the Royal Family.
The Master of the Household deals with all domestic arrangements, catering and official entertaining at Buckingham Palace and other Royal residences.
The position of Master of the Household was first created in the Household reforms of 1539. Originally there were four Masters. By the late seventeenth century this number had been reduced to one.
The post became a sinecure until, under Prince Albert's reorganisation of the Household in the 1840s, the Master was put in charge of the entire domestic establishment.
Nowadays the Master makes full use of computerised catering administration and other measures to maintain cost efficiency.
Whether the event is a reception for 700, a State Banquet for 170 or an informal lunch for 12, the Master supervises all catering arrangements, from the guest lists and seating plans to the preparation and service of the meal on the day.
In addition to the Royal kitchens, the department is responsible for housekeeping and general domestic matters as well as travel and luggage arrangements for The Queen's journeys.
The Master is also responsible for the Court Post Office, which processes the thousands of letters sent out on official business from Buckingham Palace and the other Royal residences when The Queen is in residence.
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The Lord Chamberlain's Office is involved in organising Royal ceremonies such as the annual State Opening of Parliament
The Lord Chamberlain's Office is responsible for organising Royal ceremonial events.
Despite its name, the Lord Chamberlain's Office is as independent of the Lord Chamberlain as the other departments. It is headed by the Comptroller.
The department is responsible for managing the two inward State Visits by overseas Heads of State each year, Investitures, garden parties, the State Opening of Parliament, the ceremonial for the annual ceremony of the Garter. It also organises Royal weddings and funerals.
The office includes the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps. He acts as a link between the Sovereign and the Diplomatic Heads of Mission based in the United Kingdom (currently more than 150).
The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, another part of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, co-ordinates all matters relating to honours, including the distribution of insignia.
The Lord Chamberlain's Office is responsible for dealing with Royal warrants which are granted to companies whose goods or services are used by some Royal households.
It also authorises commercial use of Royal photographs and emblems, particularly those connected with Royal anniversaries.
The department is responsible for some of the most ancient traditions connected with the Monarchy.
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The Royal Collection Department organises public access to Royal residences
Public access to the Royal residences, together with the paintings, sculpture, china and other works of art which form the impressive Royal Collection, are the responsibility of the Royal Collection Department.
The department's duties are the cataloguing, conservation, cleaning, restoration and display of the pictures, sculptures and other works of art collected by British monarchs over the centuries. These are held by The Queen in trust for her successors and for the nation.
The Director of the Royal Collection co-ordinates the work of three expert art advisers: the Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures, the Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art and the Royal Librarian.
The Director is also responsible for making the Collection accessible to the public either by display in the State Apartments of Palaces open to the public, and in The Queen's Gallery, or by loans to exhibitions.
The activities of the Royal Collection Department are funded by The Royal Collection Trust.
The Trust's income is generated by its trading subsidiary, Royal Collection Enterprises Limited, which is responsible for managing access by the public to Windsor Castle (including Frogmore House), Buckingham Palace (including the Royal Mews and The Queen's Gallery) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and for running shops at each location.
The company is also responsible for the management of the images and intellectual property rights to the Royal Collection.
Although the Keeper of the Privy Purse is Chairman of the Royal Collection Enterprises, the Director of the Royal Collection has day-to-day responsibility for the company, which is run by the Managing Director of Royal Collection Enterprises Limited.