Palace Host Guide - Kensington Palace (Seasonal)

Historic Royal Palaces; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading cultural charity in Liverpool seeks seasonal staff to support the 2026 exhibition at Kensington Palace. The role involves guiding visitors with engaging storytelling, delivering history talks, and ensuring excellent customer service. Candidates should ideally have experience in customer service and be adaptable to visitor needs. This is a flexible position with both full-time and part-time roles available, paying £15.44 per hour. Contracts run from March to November but shorter contracts are also offered.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service and working as part of a team.
• Positive and flexible approach, able to adapt style and respond to visitor needs.
• Interest and knowledge in history is advantageous but not necessary.

Responsibilities

• Guide visitors by storytelling in an engaging style.
• Deliver history talks as part of the exhibition.
• Provide exceptional customer service to all visitors.
• Ensure safety and security of the palaces and guests.
• Support daily operations and visitor experiences.

Skills

Customer service experience

Teamwork

Positive and flexible approach

Interest in history

Job description

Seasonal Contracts Available

• 9th March 2026 – 13th September 2026
• 9th March 2026 – 8th November 2026

Full‑time and part‑time roles available (2-5 days/wk), all including weekend and bank holiday working.

Salary: PR11.6 £15.44 per hour (equates to £31,117 per annum pro rata for full‑time roles at 38.75 hrs per week, 7.75 hrs/day) – salary subject to a pay review in April 2026.

Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that loves and looks after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world. The palaces are the setting for the stories that shape us all, and we’re bringing them to people in ways that mean more to them. We want everyone to find themselves in the spaces and stories we share.

2026 Exhibition at Kensington Palace: The Last Princesses of Punjab

Discover the story of Punjabi princess and suffragette icon Sophia Duleep Singh and five women who shaped her extraordinary life: Sophia and her sisters Catherine and Bamba, her mother Bamba Muller, grandmother Jind Kaur, and godmother Queen Victoria each expressed womanhood, power, and royalty in different ways. They infused their identities and heritage into the causes they devoted themselves to, and became powerful changemakers in their own right.

For the first time, Queen Victoria's childhood home of Kensington Palace will offer an intimate look into six lives shaped by Empire. This new exhibition — created to celebrate Sophia's 150th birthday — will focus on the women of a royal dynasty whose destinies were profoundly and violently transformed by it. We are looking for seasonal staff to support the operation of this exciting exhibition.

Responsibilities

• Guide visitors by proactively telling the palace and exhibition’s stories in an engaging and entertaining style, whilst ensuring accuracy in the content of the information given.
• Deliver history talks as part of the Kensington Palace offer.
• Provide the highest level of customer service and create memorable customer experiences for all visitors.
• Ensure the day‑to‑day safety and security of our palaces, their collection and our guests.
• Support the operational running of the palace and the visitor experience as required.

Qualifications & Preferences

• Experience in customer service and working as part of a team.
• Positive and flexible approach, able to adapt style and respond to visitor needs.
• Interest and knowledge in history is advantageous but not necessary.

We are an independent charity and want everyone to feel welcome and accepted, and as an ‘Investor in People’, we want you to fulfil your potential and enjoy your work.

The full season at Kensington Palace runs 9th March 2026 – 8th November 2026, but we have shorter duration contracts available (9th March 2026 – 13th September 2026). We can potentially be flexible if you have other commitments at the start/end of the season.

Closing Date: 18th January 2025

Group interviews: January 26th, 27th, February 2nd, 3rd