34% Of People Think This Would Be The Best Part Of Being A Royal - The List Survey
Being a member of a royal family is probably not the lavish fairytale that it appears to be in Disney movies. There is plenty of work that still has to be done, an entire monarchy to represent, and members of the royal family typically have busy schedules to contend with too. For instance, Princess Anne is one of the hardest-working members of the British royal family, making hundreds of official appearances in a year.
And, whenever you step out of your house, even if that house is in fact a palace, the eyes of the world will be on you. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, even went so far as to claim that he felt "trapped" in the royal family, after defecting alongside his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, as Vanity Fair reported at the time. But, whatever cons there may be to being royal, there are almost certainly some pros too.
The List asked 19,000 readers what they thought would be the best part of being royal and the results may surprise you.
Getting to skip out on household chores is considered a major royal perk
Of the 19,000 people that responded to The List's survey about the best part of being a royal, a massive 34% of them felt that having a dedicated staff was top of the list. After all, you don't have to deal with mundane chores like laundry or vacuuming when you're royalty. Then there's more specialty staff to help coordinate schedules and handle correspondence. And don't forget access to royal nannies (the rules royal nannies have to follow are pretty extensive), who are there to help with raising future kings and queens.
And who wouldn't love having their own personal chef? In a YouTube Q&A, former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed that there were 20 chefs on staff when he worked for the late Queen Elizabeth II. There's seemingly no limit on the kinds of services that could be provided to royalty either. According to Express, King Charles III has his clothing hand-washed, his shoelaces ironed, and his toothpaste squeezed onto his toothbrush for him.
However, Her Majesty was reportedly happy to do some household work herself. Paul Burrell worked for the queen as a footman and he told the podcast "The Secret" that she often helped out with washing the dishes after enjoying a picnic in Scotland. Further, the Prince and Princess of Wales lived without a household staff when they first got married. They've got help now, but it's nothing compared to Charles (via The Telegraph).
The beautiful houses and chic clothes are also top of the list
Having a staff to help out was number one for The List's readers on what they'd enjoy most about being a part of the royal family. This was quickly followed by 32% of respondents who felt that living in a huge, historic home would be great. The two really go hand in hand since it undoubtedly takes a lot of work to keep all the royal residences clean. Buckingham Palace, for example, the official London residence for the British monarch, has 775 rooms with 52 bedrooms for royalty and guests, 188 bedrooms for live-in staff, 78 bathrooms, per the family's official site, and even a secret swimming pool.
After the house and the staff, 15% of survey respondents would enjoy having access to the royal wardrobe while 11% would love to wear lavish jewelry and tiaras. And, while Kate Middleton has re-worn some of her favorite items, she's also stepped out in many stunning ensembles over the years that millions of fans envy. In 2022 alone, Kate wore over $200,000 worth of new clothing and jewelry, according to the Daily Mail.
Surprisingly, coming in last as the best royal perk was being able to meet celebrities, which got just 8% of the vote. Being royal does mean coming into contact with everybody from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift to the Spice Girls but clearly, there are bigger perks to consider.