Mourning King already under scrutiny

Reports that up to 100 employees at King Charles III‘s former residence could lose their jobs has drawn criticism of the British monarchy, within days of his accession to the throne.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday that dozens of staff at Clarence House, Charles’ former official residence, were told their jobs were at stake.

The report said the announcements came amid a busy transition period as Charles and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, move to Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

The Public and Commercial Services Union called the Royals’ decision to inform staff of cutbacks during a period of mourning “nothing short of heartless”.

“While some changes across households were to be expected as roles across the royal family change, the scale and speed with which this has been announced is extremely harsh,” said the union’s general secretary, Mark Serwotka,

UK is a citizen mourning period until Monday, when the Queen’s state funeral is held.

In a statement, Clarence House said that following Charles’s accession, the running of his and Camilla’s household has “ceased” and “as required by law, a consultation process has begun”.

“Our staff have given long and loyal service and while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working as quickly as possible to identify alternative roles for as many staff as possible,” the statement added.

The Guardian said an unnamed member of Charles’ staff told the paper that “everyone is absolutely mad … people were visibly shaken by it”.

The criticism added to negative press for the 73-year-old monarch after two videos showing him visibly annoyed by a leaking pen and a pen holder went viral on social media in recent days.

In a video, Charles was seen losing his temper over a leaking pen as he signed a visitor’s book in front of cameras in Northern Ireland, where he was visiting on Tuesday for the latest leg of his royal tour of Britain’s four nations.

Charles was heard exclaiming “Oh god I hate this” and muttering “I can’t stand this… every stinking time”.

The video came after another pen-related incident on Saturday, when the new monarch was seen gesturing in exasperation at his staff when a pen holder got in his way as he signed a document during his accession ceremony.

Charles has been under intense media scrutiny and has had a grueling schedule since his mother’s death in Scotland on Thursday.