William and Kate risk ruffling feathers at Palace with new CEO

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been warned they risk upsetting the status quo with their choice to appoint their first CEO at Kensington Palace, although the move may turn out to be a smart one, according to a royal expert. William and Kate have hired top ‘global leadership services’ agency, Odgers Berndtson, to help them pick out their ideal candidate, who should be an “impressive” figure boasting an ability to “flex”, be able to work as a “servant leader” and prioritise “humility and compassion”, among other traits. This marks a significant change from the Firm’s historic attitude to hiring staff, as traditional titles such as “Lord Chamberlain” are still in use, and has been viewed as a possible corporisation of the Palace. However, royal editor Rebecca English has suggested this is merely building on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s plans to modernise the monarchy, with William and Kate “setting out their stall” on how they will run things in the future. One insider told the Daily Mail : “It’s a smart move, although one hard to align with the existing set-up at Buckingham Palace where many live for hierarchy and titles. Kate and William are on a mission to find a new CEO (Image: Getty) “Having a CEO that oversees all the various extensions in their world – the Duchy of Cornwall, the Royal Foundation [the couple’s charitable arm], the Earthshot Awards and the Princess’s Centre for Early Childhood – seems a good move to me. “Modernising their organisational and operational structure is sensible, as long as it means bringing in people from the outside with ‘real world’ experience as opposed to career courtiers.” Although many have expressed their support for this new approach to running the royal household, others are less convinced it will be so effective. Ms English added: “Therein lies the rub. If you are looking to buck the system, you are inevitably also challenging it to a certain extent.” SCROLL BELOW FOR THE LATEST LIVE ROYAL UPDATES