Buckingham Palace staff are given alcohol awareness course after 'drunk' housemaid was arrested
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By ELEANOR MANN
Published: | Updated:
Staff at Buckingham Palace have been given an alcohol awareness course, which includes advice on how to deal with intoxicated colleagues and 'grey area drinking'.
Consultants from Alcohol Change UK, a charity whose CEO pledges to 'stop sober shaming' and provides educational sessions for clients, were invited in to speak to the royal household about the dangers of alcohol in the workplace.
Richard Piper, the chief executive of the charity, said that Buckingham Palace was one organisation which had requested its educational seminars.
The royal household had been mired in scandal two years ago, when a Christmas party at All Bar One had ended in a boozy brawl and a maid being arrested.
The educational sessions offered to the royal staff included raising awareness of mindful drinking and 'grey area drinking' - a term used to describe people who may be drinking excessively without being dependent on alcohol.
It also provided training on how to deal with intoxicated colleagues and drinking in the workplace, which was described as a 'safeguarding issue'.
Buckingham Palace's staff were given a course on dealing with drunk colleagues
Alcohol Change UK's CEO Richard Piper (pictured) said their consultants had visited the palace to offer their services
Mr Piper told The Times: 'We've worked with the royal household, with all workplaces where there may be the ability to implement better workplace policies.
'In workplaces, there's a really important point about inclusion. More people don't drink than are vegetarian. About 6 per cent of the population is vegetarian, whereas over 20 per cent of people don't drink alcohol.'
He added: 'You've also got safeguarding issues. So, this isn't just about the stigma around whether drinking is a good or bad thing. We try and get away from that and focus on health and individuals and making everyone feel included.'
Buckingham Palace's staff reportedly took the Alcohol Change session several years ago, as part of a series of wellbeing initiatives organised by the royal household's HR department.
In 2024, one of the maids for the palace was arrested after a staff Christmas party at All Bar One ended in a drink-fuelled fight.
Royal staff were said to have gathered for drinks at the Palace that December, with around 50 making their way to Victoria Street to carry on the festivities.
But the then 24-year-old woman allegedly threw a punch at the manager of the bar and was said to have hurled glasses around, despite attempts to calm her down.
The Daily Mail approached Buckingham Palace for comment.
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