It’s no secret that the royals have high standards. Everything is precise and to the letter, so it should come as no surprise that the same thing is true for cleaning the palace and the other royal residences. The test the royal family uses for prospective housekeepers is definitely not for the faint of heart. Prospective housekeepers have to pass the so-called "dead fly test." According to Tracey Waterman, head of staff recruitment for the British royal family, she or one of her staff hides a dead fly in the fireplace or on the carpet of a royal room before welcoming every potential new employee. “Once the dead fly is placed, I then bring the candidate into the room. I lead them into the room quite slowly, just giving them a chance to glance at the room, have a little look at what we’ve got inside the room. Bringing them to the fireplace, maybe highlighting that we’ve got a beautiful fireplace,” Waterman says. “At this point, I’d expect them to see the dead fly and hopefully pick it up.” If the new housekeeper fails to notice the fly (or just leaves it on the carpet), well, that’s pretty much it. The point of the dead fly test is to determine the applicant’s eye for detail and their ability to act quickly if something doesn’t look quite right. That, as Waterman says, is the difference between a housekeeper in a five-star hotel and in a royal palace. She adds that while half the candidates tend to notice the dead fly she’s placed, only 1 out of 10 will actually bend down and pick it up. "That’s the special housekeeper.” Successful candidates get quite a nice package, which includes 25 days annual leave, all bank holidays, a pension plan, maternity and paternity leave with pay, volunteering days (days off with pay), as well as physical and mental health support. They also get free tickets to all palaces and galleries of the Royal Collection Trust, and a 20% discount at their gift shops. Lunch at the palace on work days is also free. Unfortunately, you won’t get rich working as a palace housekeeper. The annual salary is a mere $32,000 for a 40-hour work week, with shifts spread across all seven days.
