The department of royal pages acted as a training school for officials. The department was directly under the king, and all pages were chosen by the king. The pages learned government procedures and court customs through observation. They were advanced by the king according to their merit or because of their personal qualities or the influence of their fathers; those that pleased him were sure of being launched into important official careers. Because the entire administration centered in the king and the pages were in a face-to-face relationship with the king, the pages as an official class were highly respected. A page of a given rank had more prestige than an official of equal rank in any other department.