This is the title of a recently published book, the ‘Royal Maid’ being Rosa Snaith, who lived in Wycombe for nearly 70 years. Despite a humble beginning she was accepted into the staff of the Royal household, before marrying a Wycombe man and moving to live and work in the town.

Early life

Rosa was born in 1927 in Merthyr Tydvil, the daughter of Thomas and Rosina Edwards. In 1944, at the age of seventeen, she spotted an advert in a shop window for a coffee maid at Buckingham Palace. She decided to apply, was accepted, and so began the adventure which would shape the rest of her life.

In Royal service

Full of excitement, but with some trepidation as well, Rosa left her home in Merthyr and travelled by train to Paddington station, then on to Buckingham Palace, which was to be her home for the next six years. But it was not the only Royal residence where she was to stay, also spending time at Balmoral, Sandringham, and Windsor during her time in the Royal household.

Rosa has many fond memories, ranging from dancing with King George VI during a special ball at Balmoral, to being personally cared for by the King’s dashing equerry after being slightly injured in a fire drill at Sandringham. One of her favourite memories is of holding King Charles’ hand when he was just a few days old.

She remembers that the staff were always treated with great respect by the Royal family – “The King and Queen always took an avid interest in our well being” she said. An incident which Rosa particularly recalls is when she had to return from Sandringham to Buckingham Palace two days ahead of the Royals to help prepare for a garden party. It was not simply a case of ‘upping and leaving’; she was treated to a cooked breakfast by the King’s chef, was chauffeured to the catch the train and was allowed to board it at the special station Wolferton (long since closed), which was normally only used by the Royal family themselves.

On one of her first days at Buckingham Palace she met the man who she was to eventually marry, Gerald Snaith. A native of Wycombe, Gerald was then serving in the Coldstream Guards. The couple married on March 18, 1950, at All Saints parish church in Wycombe. They were both offered jobs at the Palace but instead took the decision to move back to Gerald’s home town to start their married life.

Life in Wycombe

After staying for a short time with Gerald’s parents in Loudwater, the couple lived in Holmer Green for nearly 50 years, before moving to be nearer the town centre, off Hatters Lane. As well as giving birth to two children, Adrian and Jan, Rosa also worked for most of her married life, before retiring in 1992. She was the catering manager at the Red Lion hotel in the High Street until it closed in 1969, then moved to the Compleat Angler in Marlow, and finally to The Bull at Gerrards Cross.

In retirement Rosa was a regular at the Nancy Ross Age Concern Day Centre in Flackwell Heath, her daughter Jan driving the minibus which transported the members around the district.

Rosa was invited back to Buckingham Palace with daughter Jan in 2016 to attend a garden party to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. Speaking ahead of her return to the Palace, she said “I am so excited, I will be 90 years old this year too, so in many ways it feels like I grew up with the Queen and watched her grow into an amazing woman. I am very proud of my time there working for the Royals. This is really a wonderful honour.”

Rosa died on April 29, 2019, with a memorial service being held at the Nancy Ross Day Centre.

The book’ Secrets of the Royal Maid’

This short article has only briefly touched on the entirety of Rosa’s time as a royal maid. There is intrigue involved to, which embraces not only Rosa, but also her best friend Alice, who had moved to London but then disappeared without trace. Rosa’s story came to the attention of author Annie Seymour, who with the assistance of Jan Snaith, decided to write the book ‘Secrets of the Royal Maid’ .A second book is to be published later this year.

‘Secrets of the Royal Maid’ is published by Penguin Random House, costs £8.99 and can be purchased from bookshops such as Waterstones and Blackwells, and from Amazon. It can also be loaned from Buckinghamshire libraries.