The Hamlet Project

It is the “rest of’ that I am confused by here. Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern servants? Or are they friends? It’s not usual for one’s servants to be one’s friends. One can be friendly with servants and servile with friends but the two roles rarely mix. I guess I’m wondering if Hamlet is somehow digging at his two friends here and suggesting both that they are servants and that they are better than the servants Hamlet has. I suppose, as a Prince, everyone could be seen as servants – if servants might stand in for subjects. But still, he’s grouping Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with the rest of his servants, labeling them as the best of a group. It’s very curious. Maybe it’s a deliberate slight so that he can see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exchange looks again?