The Prince and Princess of Wales have been warned to tread carefully when choosing the perfect candidate for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to run their royal household after the job advertisement for the position asked for a person who is “emotionally intelligent” and with a “low ego”.

The job advertisement said the “unique opportunity” would see the successful candidate report directly to William and Kate.

It also said those applying must be “emotionally intelligent, with ‘low ego’, and strong self-awareness and understanding of their impact on others”.

Anyone wanting the job must be “able to operate as a ‘servant’ leader, empowering the senior team”, while other key qualities included being an experienced leader, an appreciation of Kate and William’s duties and responsibilities, and being an “inspiring internal champion”.

But employment experts pointed out that a claim for discrimination can be brought by job applicants as well as by employees and warned the royal couple will need to tread carefully “if they decide to refuse someone a job”.

Kate Palmer, HR Director at Peninsula told Express.co.uk: “All businesses ultimately want to attract top talent and individuals who are a good fit for their organisation, and the Royal Family is no different.

“Getting the content and tone right in a job ad is therefore key to attracting the right pool of candidates.

“Including personality traits/styles isn’t a new thing for businesses, with many job adverts already including, for example, requirements for applicants to be ‘hard working’, ‘organised’ or ‘confident making decisions’.

“However, ‘being ‘emotionally intelligent, and having a ‘low ego’ don’t seem to be commonly requested as qualities employers are looking for.

“Whether this will be something we see more of in the future, we will have to wait and see.”

But the expert stressed that care will need to be taken to ensure that “such requirements are not discriminatory” and also warned the royal couple need to assess whether an individual has these traits and they are subjective.

She said: “As certain personality traits/styles could be linked to conditions which may amount to a disability, employers will need to tread carefully if they decide to refuse someone a job because of this criterion.

“Employers and hiring managers will also need to consider how they plan to assess whether an individual is, for example, ‘emotionally intelligent’ and of a ‘low ego’ given that these are subjective traits/styles of personality.”

However, Amrit Sandhar, CEO and Founder of The Engagement Coach, claimed that even whilst many job adverts tend not to state requirements such as “low ego”, or “servant leadership”, by providing such clarity, it allows those considering applying for the role, to decide whether this represents them and their personal values.

He told Express.co.uk: “We know from research by Schwartz into Human Values, that for some people, for example, power and achievement are really important.

“By highlighting the values required for the role, it allows individuals to reflect on whether they feel aligned to those values, and can demonstrate the behaviours those values are likely to result in.

“Whilst identifying the values an individual should possess for the role isn’t typical in recruitment, often focusing instead on personality traits which can be vague, it is worth considering the human values required to align to the organisational culture required, thereby improving the possibility of attracting the right candidate for the role, allowing them to be successful, and the organisation to enhance its culture.”