It just turned out that the diligent footman did not have a work permit in the UK. And the heads of the palace service responsible for recruitment preferred to get rid of the guest worker rather than arrange all the necessary documents for him, reports the London tabloid The Sun.
Despite the presence in this story of key words that could become the basis of a spy novel – such as 'Russian', 'illegal', 'London', 'tea' – Igor Golovanov's misadventures do not smell of a thriller. The young man from Moscow at the turn of the millennium went to study in the UK in the hope of finding education, work, and maybe even a family on the islands. According to ITAR-TASS, Igor arrived in England in 2000 to study hotel management at the University of Bournemouth. After receiving his diploma, he got a job as a trainee in one of the hotels and obtained a temporary work permit. Having gained experience, he began to look around for a better opportunity, especially since his employers' business was going poorly and the hotel where he worked was on the verge of closing. In early 2006, he saw an advertisement for recruitment of service staff at Buckingham Palace and took a risk by sending his resume there.
But, having lived more than a year in law-abiding Britain, Igor Golovanov, in all likelihood, remained in many ways a Russian. At any rate, he was not initially too troubled by the fact that during the job interview no one particularly inquired about his work visa and did not make copies of all his documents. In Golovanov's historical homeland, authorities can allow themselves even greater deviations from the law – here, as is well known, mayors' fake diplomas 'surface' only when they are about to run for president. In the palace, however, they created a complete illusion of vetting the candidate – as Igor himself claims, he had to wait seven months before an official invitation to start work arrived. In October 2006, dressed in a gold-embroidered scarlet livery, he began his service.
In an interview with a British publication, Igor Golovanov said that he had served both the queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh Philip, as well as their sons – Princes Charles and Andrew. 'They were very polite to me, despite my relatively young age,' the only Russian footman at the royal court told The Sun. During his entire time at the palace, the promising servant made only one mistake, but it was that mistake that apparently cost him his job and indeed his career in England. Remembering that his British visa was expiring in August, Golovanov decided to renew it. For a hassle-free processing of all documents, he needed to provide the immigration authorities with a letter from his employer, and he turned to the personnel department at the royal court. This was a failure.
According to Igor Golovanov, the director of personnel at Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth Hunka, was literally shocked to not find a valid work permit in his file. She explained to the employee that she needed to consult with lawyers and immigration authorities, and after some time the guest worker received a letter notifying him that his further work at the court was impossible. The document contained a rather frank hint that the footman had better not make a scandal – that, given the newly discovered circumstances, formally the court had no financial obligations to the employee, but solely out of gentlemanly considerations, his salary would be paid. The personnel department expected equally gentlemanly behavior upon dismissal.
It is quite possible that the Russian who lost his job would not have complained to the English tabloid if the matter had ended with just the dismissal. However, at the palace, which clearly does not want to publicize the blunder of its HR department, they insist that Igor Golovanov leave the UK. 'They broke the law by hiring me, and now they call and say I must leave the country as quickly as possible,' claims the retired footman of Her Majesty. Golovanov himself, according to his own assertion, has become so attached to Foggy Albion that he would like to stay there, even if far from Buckingham Palace.