Living in Queen Elizabeth's official residence of Buckingham Palace feels a lot like being in Downton Abbey, former royal chef Darren McGrady said. The aide was the live-in chef at the Queen's London home for 11 years before moving to work for Princess Diana and her kids, Princes William and Harry, until 1997.
In an interview with Insider, McGrady said that Buckingham Palace had separate quarters for male and female staff, much like how it is depicted in the popular TV show. The kitchen, housemaids and footmen's floors were separated and the staff were not allowed on the other floors not assigned to them.
McGrady recalled that kitchen staff sneaking up on the floors of the housemaids or footmen, and vise versa, would be in serious trouble. The rules of the house were like in the Victorian era with the implemented segregation.
The chef, who now lives in Denver, said that they were allowed to have guests visit them at Buckingham Palace. However, guests had to observe a curfew of 10:00 p.m. and overnight stays were not allowed.
It's not the first time that a former palace staff has compared life in Buckingham Palace to Downton Abbey. Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's former butler and friend, also said in an interview with Mirror that living in the palace is much like the well-loved TV show but a hundred times more aristocratic. Burrell said that being in the Queen's castle is like being in a village with Her Majesty as the "cherry on the cake."
The Queen's official residence in London has 775 rooms and it's actually like a hotel. According to McGrady, even the staff's quarters had its own cleaners so he didn't make his own bed when he gets up in the morning. They were provided free breakfast, lunch dinner and afternoon tea. The staff had their own bar as well, with hugely discounted drinks.
If the Queen had to travel to her other houses, such as Windsor, Sandringham or Balmoral, the staff would have get-togethers and hold parties, bingo nights and discos. Sometimes, the royals would attend the celebrations and gamely judge some of the contests.
Thus, royal workers loved staying in Buckingham Palace. There have been staff members who have served the Queen for more than 30 years because they were looked after quite well. Since leaving the palace, however, McGrady believes some of the rooms that were meant for the staff have been turned into offices.
