So you’ve bought the penthouse on the Upper East Side in New York; the house in Eaton Square; the large luxury apartment with state-of-the-art electronics in The Peak area of Hong Kong; the Palladian shooting lodge in Gloucestershire and the palace in Venice. Servicing the needs of all that property and a family that requires invitations to the hottest parties around needs a phalanx of discreet, well-connected butlers.
Enter Quintessentially, the wish-fulfilment empire headed up by 35-year-old Ben Elliot, nephew of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, whose address book gets to places where others cannot reach, and his 38-year-old co-founder, Aaron Simpson.
Their 2,000 thorough-bred Quintessentialists (many of the blonde, swishy-haired variety), spread across the world, are on standby to serve outlandish whims: whether it’s sourcing a diamond-encrusted Hermès Birkin bag or walking a Pekingese and eight Labradors for an owner who comes to London for 10 weeks of the year.