Yes, it's that time of the year again! The royal family would soon embark on a long holiday to Sandringham and spend their Christmas in the most glorious way possible. There are several royal trends and traditions that are followed religiously every year during Christmas celebrations.
The one that has caught our attention is the unique test through which the Queen handpicks her Christmas staff. Yes, the staff that witnesses Queen's Christmas celebration is handpicked only after they pass the out-of-the-box test.
As per a Marie Claire report (based on the documentary, Inside Sandringham: Holidaying with the Queen); the royal recruitment expert lays bare the process of selecting only the best as the staff for the holidays.
The report quotes Tracey Waterman (recruitment expert) saying, "The difference between housekeeper in a five-star hotel and in a royal Palace would be attention to detail. One of the tests I like to do, to see if a candidate has potential eye for detail, is to place a dead fly, either in the fireplace or on the carpet. 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."
She further says that the staff is casually then taken to the spot where the dead fly is placed so that they get a fair chance of spotting it. And it is at this point and what they do, forms the basis of their selection or rejection. The recruitment expert says that many would not be able to spot the fly, many would but not pick it up and there are only one in ten who would actually pick up the fly. And the one who does will be the "housekeeper" the royal family keeps for the holidays.
Phew! What a way to choose a house staff!
