Job seekers who are looking for something a bit different might want to consider working at Buckingham Palace, if they don't mind having Queen Elizabeth II as a boss. The British monarch has started posting job vacancies on her official Web site, at a time when the number of U.K. unemployed is nearing the 2.0 million mark.
Jobs on the Queen's official Web site include that of trainee butler and housekeeping assistant, a palace spokesman said. Job seekers would have to submit their applications and book interviews with Buckingham Palace online.
The announcement comes as unemployment in the U.K. hit a 10-year high, with people claiming benefits rising to 1.23 million, the most since July 1999.
Created in 1997, the royal Web site has undergone a major revamp, with more links to YouTube videos and more interactive opportunities, like a Google Map that will allow users to track local royal visits. (See "Queen Elizabeth 2.0.")
The Queen (undoubtedly with the help of a few Web-savvy assistants) hopes to become more interactive by posting entries in a diary of her engagements using Google's geolocation software and updating subjects on royal pets.
The site also adds archival material, such as a recording of the Queen's first public speech (as Princess Elizabeth) on Oct. 13, 1940, a copy of the letter Elizabeth's father, King George VI, sent to Winston Churchill on the eve of D-Day, and an 1878 extract from Queen Victoria's journal in which she describes using a telephone for the first time.
The palace said around 250,000 visitors visit the British monarch's Web site every week. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, attended the re-launch of the site on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
