Ridiculous Jobs Queen Elizabeth Has Her Staff Do

In the year 1340, the Master of the Horse position was created, Horse & Hound reported. While this position would've been of importance in centuries past, today the job is an honorary one. "The Master is no longer involved with the day-to-day running of [the Royal Mews] but still makes inspections and rides in ceremonial uniform at state occasions," the publication explained.

In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lord Vestey, former chairman of Cheltenham racecourse in Gloucestershire, England, as the new Master of the Horse. As of this writing, Vestey continues to hold the ceremonial position. According to The Telegraph, he is "the senior officer" in charge of the royal stables (the Royal Mews) as well as the horses and horse carriages belonging to the queen. "In his role he attends important ceremonial occasions when the sovereign rides on horseback or travels in horse-drawn carriage, such as at Trooping the Colour and the state opening of Parliament," the publication explained. Yes, his job is to mostly just stand or ride beside the queen and her horse.

Up until the mid-1800s, the head of the royal family traveled to and from the royal palaces via the river Thames. Back then, 48 staffers dubbed Royal Watermen were responsible for rowing the Royal Barges in order to transport the sovereign. 

During King Edward VII's rule, he cut the number of watermen down to half. "The Sovereign today still retains 24 Royal Watermen under the command of The Queen's Bargemaster, thereby continuing one of the most ancient appointments in the Royal Household," the royal family's official site states. 

While Queen Elizabeth II employs these 24 people, there are no barges in need of being manned daily. In the rare instance when the royal family travels on the Thames, the Royal Watermen are tasked with accompanying the family on the barge named the Royal Nore. Still, the site reveals that "the duties of the Royal Watermen are now purely ceremonial." 

Queen Elizabeth II has her very own composer dubbed the Master of The Queen's Music. In the past, this position was a lifelong commitment. However, the royal family's official site states that the terms have been changed to ten years in order to "give more composers the opportunity to take up this honorary position." BBC News explained that there are "no fixed duties involved" with the title, but "the Master may compose pieces for Royal or State occasions."

While this is largely a ceremonial job today, those who've been appointed as Master are extremely talented. In 2004, the sovereign chose renowned British conductor and composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. He formerly worked as the conductor and composer for both the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. A decade later, the queen appointed the first-ever female Master of the Queen's Music, Judith Weir — a former opera writer and resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Since 1843, during Queen Victoria's reign, the Royal Household has included the Piper of the Sovereign. This musician is "responsible for playing the bagpipes whenever Her Majesty requests it," according to Hello! magazine. Additionally, the piper is tasked with playing bagpipes every weekday for 15 minutes beginning at 9 a.m., which acts as a wakeup call for the queen. "The sound of the lone piper has played under the Queen's bedroom window every weekday since she took up her position on the throne," Express reported. 

Although an alarm clock could arguably replace this wakeup call, Queen Elizabeth II continues to employ a Piper of the Sovereign. Since its inception, 16 people have held the position and only two breaks — one four-year pause during World War II and a weeks-long gap after Pipe Major Scott Methven unexpectedly left due to family reasons — have been observed.

As of this writing, Pipe Major David Rodgers holds the title — and it's a daunting one. Former Piper Gordon Webster told Express he had to memorize some 700 songs during his tenure. "The Queen doesn't like you repeating the same tunes every day," he explained.

The practice of hiring a food taster to test for poison is an ancient one. Roman Emperor Claudius famously had a taster named Halotus, who was later suspected of murder when the emperor died by poison in 54 A.D. Although it has not been confirmed by the Secret Service, it's likely that American presidents still abide by the procedure of food tasting.

The same appears to be true for Queen Elizabeth II. Although Buckingham Palace has not confirmed reports of an official food taster, chef Kevin Dundon claims to have observed the custom firsthand. The chef prepared a salmon and lamb dinner for the queen, but said she didn't try the meal until after her taste-tester sampled it. "I produced two plates: one for him and one for her, and he tasted before it was served to her," Dundon told People. Hmm, how's that for a high-risk, high-reward job?

Although the royal family has been taking steps to keep up with the times — Queen Elizabeth II posted on Instagram for the very first time in March 2019 — they still uphold centuries-old traditions, including maintaining analog clocks.

While we may look to our phones to tell time, the queen has some 450 analog clocks at Windsor Castle alone. Express reported that Steve Davidson, the monarch's longtime clockmaker, developed repetitive strain injury (RSI) in his right wrist after nearly two decades spent cleaning, repairing, and winding the queen's clocks. Instead of taking a break, an insider told the publication that he made a tool that enabled him "to do the job left-handed if his right hand needs a rest."

Davidson is certainly dedicated to his job. In an earlier documentary, The Queen's Castle (via Express), Davidson revealed that it takes him an average of 16 hours to change all of the clocks for daylight savings time. Meanwhile, most of us have a hard enough time just changing the digital clocks in our cars.

Queen Elizabeth II has a sizable art collection. And by that we mean she basically has a museum's worth of art. According to the Royal Collection Trust, the Royal Collection is "one of the largest and most important art collections in the world." It includes around 7,000 oil paintings as well as 3,000 miniatures.

In 2004, the monarch appointed Desmond Shawe-Taylor as Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures. "It is a huge honour to be chosen to succeed Christopher Lloyd as Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures," Shawe-Taylor is quoted as saying. "The Royal Collection has a great tradition of scholarship and outstanding exhibitions, and it will be an immense privilege to be part of it." 

This job may seem a bit random, but it's actually considered a top-tier position. "The Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures is a senior member of the Royal Collection, one of the five departments of the Royal Household," the trust explained.

If "Ravenmaster" sounds like a title straight out of a fairytale, that's because it kind of is. According to legend, King Charles II is responsible for starting the tradition of keeping six ravens housed in the Tower of London. In the centuries since his reign, his heirs have followed the tradition for fear of a prophecy that warns that the country will be endangered should the ravens leave.

While JSTOR Daily notes that the prophecy is false, so is the story of Charles II shoring up the future of his kingdom by clipping ravens' wings and keeping them confined to the Tower, it's true that ravens have been housed there since the late 19th century — and one person is tasked with watching over them. As ridiculous as the job of Ravenmaster sounds, it's actually quite prestigious and requires decades of military service as a prerequisite, per Historic UK.

Christopher Skaife is the current Ravenmaster of the Tower of London, and he even wrote a book about his experience called "The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London." Being the Ravenmaster has turned Skaife into a minor celebrity. His book has been praised by such literary bigwigs as Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman, and more than 100,000 people follow Skaife on Twitter, where he regularly posts pictures of the Tower's ravens.

Skaife takes his job seriously and loves the birds for their own sake. "They need to be looked at, observed and watched in awe at how beautiful they are and how intelligent they are," he told "The Current" (via CBC).