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Charles, who succeeded his mother on her death last Thursday,
and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be moving from
Clarence House, his London home for decades, to the monarch's
main official residence, Buckingham Palace.
A Clarence House spokesman said operations there had ceased and
a consultation process with staff over redundancies had begun.
"Our staff have given long and loyal service and while some
redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to
identify alternative roles for the greatest possible number of
staff," the spokesman said.
The Guardian newspaper reported that up 100 employees had been
told they could lose their jobs, some who had worked there for
decades. They include personal servants such as footmen, valets,
dressers and cooks, as well as clerical staff.
The notifications were issued even as they were working to
assist the new king during the accession process -- including
while a thanksgiving service for his mother was under way in
Edinburgh, it said. Monday will be a national holiday for the
queen's funeral.
The Public and Commercial Services Union condemned the decision
to announce redundancies during the mourning period as
"heartless".
"While some changes across the households were to be expected,
as roles across the Royal Family change, the scale and speed at
which this has been announced is callous in the extreme," union
general secretary Mark Serwotka said.
The Clarence House spokesman said the law required staff to be
made aware of the situation at the earliest opportunity.
"Despite every effort to delay until after the funeral the
advice remained the same," he said. "Any staff being made
redundant will be offered enhanced redundancy payments."
No staff would be affected for at least three months, he added.
(Reporting by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Peter Graff)
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