Royal baby footman back in India after visa renewal fails

[The Straight Story]

The footman who rose from a Calcutta slum to Buckingham Palace, and helped announce Prince George's birth to the world, has left the country after his visa renewal application failed.

Badar Azim, 25, escorted the Queen’s press secretary, Ailsa Anderson, as she posted the birth notice on the royal golden easel in the Palace courtyard when the baby - third in line to the British throne - was born.

Today he is back in India, after the Home Office refused to renew his visa, according to The Times.

A palace source told The Daily Mail: "Everyone here is sad that Badar is gone.

“He was popular and had clearly overcome such a struggle to get to Britain in the first place. He was just finding his feet.”

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/royal-baby-footman-back-in-india-after-visa-renewal-fails-29461783.html

[theHandpuppet]

1. Well, Mr. Azim...

I guess that will teach you to think you could rise above your station. It's back to the slums of Calcutta for you, while the well-born baby heads to the palace.


(Do I really need the sarcasm tag here?)

[HiPointDem]

2. not like the palace could have pulled some strings or anything to keep their 'popular' footman, is

it?

[theHandpuppet]

3. All hail the monarchy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381117/RICHARD-KAY-Sad-exit-Badar-Azim-footman-star-Prince-Georges-royal-birth.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/royal-baby-footman-badar-azim-2106318
(excerpt)
BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Badar earned £15,000 a year as a new recruit at the Palace. Bed and board was provided free as part of his package.

The Palace has 830,000sq ft of floorspace and the largest private garden in London.

Staff are given flats above the Royal Mews stables at the southern end of the grounds.

CALCUTTA

Badar will live with his parents two brothers and five other relatives in a two-room house.

His dad works as a welder and earns just £33 a month. In the city’s crowded slum areas, the average wage of a manual worker is just 27rupees (30p) a day.

More than 1.5million people live in Calcutta’s slums.

[JI7]

5. the money doesn't seem too bad when you consider the living expenses were

covered also.

[JI7]

4. he could probably make some living in india with this

being the guy who helped in the announcement of the birth.

[The Straight Story]

6. True, he could put an ad on craiglist and be a baby announcer

he has more experience than most