The whole idea of “working for the Windsors” is that you’re playing a longer game and setting yourself up for your next move. A few years working in one of the royal offices can set someone up for a high-paying job in the private sector. The Windsors pay badly, but on the bright side, there’s nothing much to do – the left-behinds are lazy as hell and we heard endlessly about the “genteel pace” of Kensington Palace in particular when Prince Harry married Meghan. Basically, the money is awful but the work isn’t stressful at all. So it’s strange that despite the “genteel pace” of KP, Prince William and Kate cannot keep staff around at all. They’re constantly losing senior staffers in particular – Kate went without a private secretary for a year and a half, William’s private secretary quit when William announced his big plan to hire a CEO, and they’ve gone through a dozen major staffers in the past four years or so. Weirdly, there’s absolutely zero energy towards “Will and Kate are horrible bosses and their staffers never stick around” commentary. Speaking of, William is losing his equerry and the guy isn’t even moving into the private sector. Dude would rather go back to the Navy than organize those “William is the sexiest bald man ever” polls.
Prince William’s dashing royal equerry Rob Dixon has shared an emotional message to LinkedIn as he prepares to bid farewell to the role. The commander was first appointed to the household in 2020, when William and Kate were Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and continued in the role when they became the Prince and Princess of Wales. After being loyally by William’s side for four years as his right-hand man, he is now set to return to his post in the Royal Navy.
Sharing a moving post to his LinkedIn account this morning as he prepares to step down as equerry, the officer thanked the Prince for the ‘incredible opportunity’ and reinforced his continuing commitment to ‘Team Wales’. He accompanied his post with some touching images from his time in the role, such as laughing alongside the Princess of Wales during her Christmas event in 2022, and joining Prince William and Prince George for the Platinum Jubilee.
Mr Dixon wrote: ‘It’s time to move on… I’ve had the most incredible opportunity to serve in a role that not only challenged me, but allowed me to grow, to learn, and to make meaningful contributions alongside a talented and passionate team. I am immensely grateful for the support, collaboration, and friendships formed during these last 4 years. It’s been a remarkable journey and I look forward to carrying the skills and insights I’ve gained into my next appointments.’
Equerries are officers from one of the three branches of the Armed Forces who are seconded to assist senior royals in the course of their royal duties. This involves organising and helping out at public engagements, to arranging official diaries – with about six of them working in the Royal Household at any one time. The role dates back to the 16th century and aims to reinforce the Crown’s role as Head of the Armed Forces. It is usually held for three years. Mr Dixon is heading back to the Royal Navy after four years.
Prince William’s new equerry will be Squadron Leader Mike Reynolds, who is also a trained helicopter pilot and on secondment from the Royal Air Force.
Ah, so Dixon was assigned to William. Incidentally, William’s current private secretary was also assigned to him. Despite the months searching for a Keen CEO, William’s office went without a private secretary for months, coinciding with all of the clownery at the beginning of the year, with the lies about Kate’s health issues, the manipulated photos, etc. Back in February, it felt like Buckingham Palace basically assigned two new private secretaries for William and Kate. Anyway, it’s interesting that Dixon managed to stick around for four years. I feel sorry for him that he can’t cash out and find a lucrative private gig from here, but I bet anything else will feel like a vacation after babysitting Prince Incandescence Rage.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.