Buckingham Palace’s annual accounts reveal the Royal Household missed its ethnic-minority staffing target, reaching roughly 12% instead of the 14% goal. Keeper of the Privy Purse James Chalmers praised the Palace’s gender balance and a 4.3% mean gender pay gap, but called the ethnic-minority shortfall “a disappointment.” The Palace cites slower staff turnover as a factor and has set a new long-term ambition of 18% ethnic-minority representation without specifying a timeframe. Kensington Palace reported 14.9% ethnic-minority staff and a 73% female workforce.
Buckingham Palace Misses Ethnic-Minority Staffing Target, Raises Long-Term Goal to 18%
Buckingham Palace Didn’t Meet Diversity TargetsSOPA Images - Getty Images
Buckingham Palace has published its annual accounts, disclosing how public funds were spent over the last financial year and reporting on workforce metrics — including diversity targets. The Royal Household fell short of its stated target for employees from ethnic minority backgrounds, prompting renewed ambitions and a refreshed inclusivity strategy.
“As we shape a Household fit for the future, we have also sought to ensure our workforce properly reflects the society it serves,”Keeper of the Privy Purse James Chalmers, the King’s personal treasurer, told reporters. He noted the Palace’s workforce is broadly gender balanced, with 54% female employees and a mean gender pay gap of 4.3%, which Chalmers said is more than eight percentage points below the national average.
Chalmers described the shortfall on ethnic-minority staffing as “a disappointment.” The Palace currently reports that about 12% of its staff come from ethnic minority backgrounds — two percentage points below its 14% target for the year.
The Palace’s report attributes the decline in ethnic-minority representation to a combination of factors, notably a slowdown in staff turnover last year that limited opportunities to recruit more diverse candidates. In response, the Household has raised its long-term ambition to reach 18% ethnic-minority representation, though it has not set a timetable for achieving that goal.
“We recognise that more work needs to be done, and is already being done, to improve the diversity of our workforce,”Chalmers said, adding that a refreshed Inclusivity and Diversity Strategy is intended to accelerate sustained and targeted progress and to align staffing with UK census data on ethnic minorities.
Kensington Palace also published staffing figures: its workforce is 73% female and 27% male, with 14.9% coming from ethnic minority backgrounds.
What This Means
The Royal Household acknowledges progress on gender balance and a relatively low mean pay gap, but the missed ethnic-minority target highlights a persistent challenge. The Palace’s new 18% ambition signals longer-term intent, but advocates and observers may press for a clear timetable and measurable steps to deliver faster change.
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