The Queen Mum is looking for housemaids from Oxfordshire to clean her furniture, mop floors and do light dusting.

And she has chosen the Oxford Mail's advertisement columns to search for suitable candidates. Her ad, which appears for the first time tomorrow, reads: "Housemaids required for Royal Household in London."

Candidates are invited to apply to the Comptroller of Clarence House, her official residence.

The Queen Mum is splashing out the princely sum of £87.56 on a series of ads in the Mail's sits vacant column.

But she does qualify for a ten per cent discount for putting it in three consecutive editions.

Normally account staff would do a credit check on ads worth more than £50 - but the Queen Mum is not expected to be a bad debt.

Comptroller Sir Alastair Aird said: "I want two housemaids to clean the house, keep it tidy and polish furniture. I do not really want girls under 18 because in London they get a bit lonely, and I do not really want anyone over 60."

Candidates could be graduates or middle-aged mums sick of staying at home.

Sir Alastair said he would interview them and they would be paid according to experience. The exact salary remains confidential, as does the total number of maids working at Clarence House.

But Sir Alastair said the opportunity to work in such beautiful surroundings was not to be missed.

Housemaids even have the chance to see the Queen Mother in person from time to time. Sir Alastair added: "It is unlikely they would have daily contact, but they would certainly see her on occasions." It is not the first time the Queen Mother has advertised for staff in the Oxford Mail. Last year she was on the hunt for a new housekeeper.

Sir Alastair said: "When I want replacement staff, I always find I get better replies if I deal with a regional evening newspaper."

The ad has also been placed in the south-west, Wales and the Midlands.

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