The matter of service is one that crops up in royalty as a problem all too often because it’s one of the few ways to get people to do a particular job for you, and since it doesn’t fall into any other categories and the work done is more serious than many jobs are, there are complications which can occur.
It’s also an issue that where it takes place draws in all sorts of different people. It doesn’t involve spying but it requires a discrete sort of behaviour. There may be conversations, groups of people, or even events that need to be kept quiet. This is not to keep a secret, but to keep a matter safe.
In the later periods of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 2 it didn’t go smoothly in this respect. There were political matters afoot that meant ‘leaking’ and ‘briefing’ all the wrong people took place. It was also a “curse” that documents kept going missing. It’s the sort of skullduggery of medieval times.
The other phenomenon involved senior managers, public servants, and civil servants aligning to the wrong agenda. It’s the sort of espionage states like Russia choose to engage in because it’s safer and more efficient. The recruitment happened remotely and the work given undetected.
In our times most people with an important job are taken as being necessary to how the nation is governed. It just so happens other people know this too, and they’re our enemies. The confusion that results in some parts of society apart from a political system happens because of this sort of activity.
It may be an image, an advert, or a person that proves to be the recruitment ‘ad’ and it starts a journey into working for the other side. It may be for an overseas company, figure, or even government. Its purpose is to achieve the same as defectors have before, a sort of harm to our own country.