Random Weirdest Royal Jobs That Actually Exist (17 items)

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  (#6) Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales

  For those of you who think Prince Charles has just been sitting around waiting to finally inherit the throne, think again. He reinstated the role of Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales! (Which is him, by the way.) The role of Official Harpist was discontinued in the days of Queen Victoria, but Charles wanted to grow the harp’s profile as an instrument. Don’t say he doesn’t have goals. The harp is actually an important component of Welsh tradition and Charles hoped the revival of the position would develop musical talent in Wales.

  In 2015, Anne Denholm replaced the previous harpist, Hannah Stone, after the married Stone ran off with an opera singer twenty years older than she, causing what can safely be assumed to be the biggest royal-harp-related scandal in a long time.
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  (#11) Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures

  The Queen’s “Royal Collection” currently includes roughly 7,000 oil paintings and 3,000 miniatures. That’s a lot of pictures that need surveying. Desmond Shawe-Taylor holds curatorial responsibility for all of the Queen’s Pictures, which are on display at the principal royal residences, but are open to the public.

  This role is not to be confused with the entirely separate role of Surveyor of the Queen’s Works of Art. Raise your hand if you’re confused.
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  (#1) The Grand Carver

  Well you didn’t expect the Queen to cut her own meat, did you? The royal household maintains the position of Grand Carver, which literally just designates someone to carve up the roast meat on special occasions. The role is currently held by the Earls of Denbigh and Desmond. Grand Carver is a hereditary position, because apparently the gift of evenly slicing poultry is a genetic one.

  There’s also the separate position of Master Carver of Scotland, because clearly it's just that important.
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  (#4) The Royal Horological Conservator

  One thing the British Monarchy truly excels at is creating fancy, bullsh*t titles for mundane jobs. The Royal Horological Conservator is actually the Royal Clock Winder. If you haven’t noticed by now, the Queen isn’t generally one to favor modernity over tradition. So rather than using a digital clock, she hires someone to maintain and set over 1,000 clocks in Buckingham Palace and the other royal residences.

  That constant tick-tocking plus the morning bagpipe performance is starting to make the palace sound like a downright noisy place to live.
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  (#5) Keeper of the Queen's Stamps

  The Royal Philatelic Collection, AKA the Queen’s stamps, has been kept under the watchful eyes of Michael Sefi since 2003. While this job might sound so dull that it can't be real, Sefi travels internationally to acquire new stamps and arrange stamp exhibitions to display the Queen’s impressive collection.

  Though the Queen inherited much of the collection from her grandfather, George V, and apparently doesn't give a f*ck about stamps, she does appreciate the need to preserve the collection. Sefi has been an avid stamp collector since his youth and headed up several philatelic societies before landing the job.
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  (#10) The Queen's Bargemaster

  Like so many other royal jobs, the Queen's Bargemaster is now mainly ceremonial in function. In the 18th century, the sovereign regularly traveled on the River Thames. Forty-eight Royal Watermen would row the Royal Barges up and down the river, and the Queen's Bargemaster was in charge of them all.

  Now there are no state barges, yet still there are 24 Royal Watermen and a Bargemaster. Currently, the royal family uses the Royal Nore, the official motor launch, to travel on the river, and they have 25 men available to escort them, ever so ceremoniously, on board.

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