Kate Middleton and Prince William Seek New Private Assistant

If you’re jobless and fluent in Welsh, great news: Kate Middleton and Prince William just might be looking for you. The royal couple is currently seeking a new Assistant Private Secretary to help manage some of their duties, with “conversational Welsh” speaking skills an essential part of the gig. And even if you’re not looking for work, there’s still an upside to be found in the job posting, as it suggests the Prince and Princess of Wales are getting ready for a full return to public life.

It’s well known by now that Middleton and husband Prince William have severely curtailed their usual schedule of public appearances in 2024, as a result of her cancer diagnosis at the beginning of the year. As Kate Middleton recovered from cancer treatments, William scaled back his schedule as well, with occasional solo engagements close to home.

In recent months, Middleton appears to have turned a corner, appearing alongside William at the birthday celebration for King Charles III (aka Trooping the Colour) in June, then hitting Wimbledon last weekend with daughter Princess Charlotte.

According to sources close to the family who spoke with Vanity Fair, Middleton, William, and their kids (in addition to Charlotte, who is nine, the couple are parents to six-year-old Prince Louis and 10-year-old Prince George) are now “on summer break,” with few public engagements or travel planned.

But a job posting on the Kensington Palace website—which houses Middleton and William’s offices—suggests their schedule might soon ramp up. In a listing for the “Assistant Private Secretary, Wales & U.K.,” we learn that the job will involve “the planning and delivery for most of [Their Royal Highnesses] public engagements in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.” Would the family hire someone to arrange public appearances for the couple if none were in the works? Hard to imagine why, if so.

In addition to the events planning aspect of the job, whoever accepts the mission will also have public relations and brand management duties, as the new staffer will also be expected to “contribute to the development of the Household’s strategy to maximise impact across the constituent nations of the U.K., with a particular focus on Wales.”

The salary for the job hasn’t been disclosed, unlike the communications assistant job posted by the palace in March. That position offered a salary comparable to $32,000 U.S.

Qualified applicants will have “excellent communication and organisational skills, with a proven ability to build productive relationships with a wide range of individuals and institutions” the listing reads. “You will have a proactive, hands-on approach while operating in a small and agile team, and a strong understanding of Welsh communities, affairs, government, and business.”

To that end, applicants should boast at least conversational facility with the Welsh language, though “fluent Welsh, both written and spoken, is desirable.” It is a rare skill, indeed, as according to the Welsh government, only 28 percent of the population can speak Welsh, only 24 percent can read it, and only 22 percent can write it. Of those who do speak it, only 14 percent of those say they do so daily.

In fact, even William was fairly unfamiliar with Welsh until 2022, when he was named Prince of Wales. That said, the couple also lived in Wales for a time following their 2011 wedding, before their kids entered the picture. Back then, Middleton would dine out and shop in Anglesey, where William was stationed with the Royal Air Force. Those days, which included costumed nights out and a ride on a so-called “sea doughnut,” ended in 2013, when the couple moved into their first official residence at Kensington Palace.