Top royal advisor's 2 bizarre conditions before accepting role with William and Harry

Former British ambassador to the USA Sir David Manning has revealed that he had two conditions when accepting a role in the Firm alongside Prince William and Prince Harry. The late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, reportedly wanted to make sure her grandsons were well-equipped to, when the time came, represent the monarchy overseas.

Sir David, who went on to work for the Firm for a decade, was then handpicked by the late Queen. According to royal expert Valentine Low's book Courtiers, Sir David came to a rather unorthodox agreement with her. Speaking of the two conditions, the author wrote: "[Sir David] Manning agreed to take on the job of adviser on two conditions: that he could do it part-time and that it was unpaid."

Discussing why he didn't want to work full-time, he wrote that Sir David did not want to beocme "embroiled in the formal palace machinery".

As reported by the Daily Mail, the late Queen was so confident that he would make a good advisor for William and Harry that she agreed with his conditions.

The late Queen was proven right with both William and Harry developing a close relationship with their advisor.

Harry and William's former private secretary - Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton - also spoke to Valentine Low about Sir David.

He said: "Manning was a real confidant to the princes. He was somebody they could talk to, they could joke with. He had enormously good judgement about people.

"I think they trusted him. They knew he would be very discreet. And they knew he would fight their corner."

Under his guidance, Harry and William later created the Royal Foundation - which was a "leaner, nimbler way of working, and avoided being weighed down by long-term commitments".