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Courtiers: The Sunday Times bestselling inside story of the power behind the crown

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I did enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of Will and Harry and their wives - to me that was the best part of the book. Just past the 50% mark the read became riveting as it covered Prince Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle. He would continually accuse the courtiers, those in Buckingham Palace and those who worked for his father, of not fighting for him. The book reads: "Faced with hordes of journalists intent on trawling through every aspect of Meghan’s life, Harry became determined to protect his girlfriend. He ignores that the Queen herself was racist so it's not a stretch that her staff and family are as well.

The Royal family refer to themselves as 'the firm' and it really is a big company operating from numerous buildings with the Crown, as CEO. Once in a while, the misbehaviour – real or imaginary – of one particular courtier serves to remind the public of this shadowy caste that enjoys royal intimacy, sometimes for decades, or in the case of some families, over several generations. Courtiers pulls back the veil to reveal an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting alliances, and a battle of ideas over what the future of the institution should be. And the royals are employed by the government of the day, they are overpaid, overprivileged public servants in reality, even if they don't appear it. I thought this was well done, a tad dry in some parts but overall a an educational read that I definitely enjoyed.

In 2011 about 80% of the UK population was listed as white British, I think 85% of the population as white period. I found the commentary on Harry and Meagan’s departure was easier to believe and understand with fewer holes and wordsmithing in it.

Though most pick it up to read more juicy gos behind certain events, and in that case, I agree, the first half of the book looks quite boring. Some notable courtiers are familiar names to those with a penchant for history/Netflix, such as 'Tommy' Lascelles, or to more current political followers, such as Lord Geidt, but many are unknown powers behind the throne. Low reveals that when ‘William and Kate’s children were young… William told his staff that he did not want them wearing suits when they were in the office’, with a household source stating: ‘He wants it to be casual… The kids run around the office, and he does not want it to be stuffy.Furthermore, a courtier's main job at all times while making decisions and recommendations is to consider the following: "Am I putting at risk the trust the nation places in Her Majesty? This author has a lot of contacts from the royal household, both anonymous and documented on the record. A lot I already knew, but it was definitely interesting to see things from a different angle and it gave me more insight into what “really has happened” between the Royal family, the administration/staff, and the media. He relates that ‘their escape plans were already laid, amid the greatest secrecy’ when Harry and Meghan took their young son, Archie, on a six-week break to Canada in November 2019.

Now, a newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.Prince Andrew, Princess Margaret and Prince Philip are all also noted with specific and horrific examples of being cruel and verbally abusive to staff. Striking features are the descriptions of the differing ethos' of the various Royal Households - from late Edwardian grandeur and high camp fun of the Clarence House of the Queen Mother to breezy informality of the younger Pr With a dark cloud hanging over Prince Andrew as well as Harry and Meghan's controversial departure from royal life, William and Kate—equipped with a very 21st century approach to press and public relations—now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant for the decades to come. So,” the Duchess of Sussex said to Oprah Winfrey in that interview of March 2021 in the Santa Barbara paradise garden, “there’s the family, and then there’s the people running the institution. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry acted like 'a couple of teenagers,' palace sources allege in explosive new book".

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