What do you think?
Rate this book
Courtiers
The gripping account of how the Royal family really operates from the man who has spent years studying them in his role as Royal correspondent for The Times. Valentine Low asks the important questions: who really runs the show and, as Charles III begins his reign, what will happen next?
Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers - the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle - to ensure its survival as a family, an ancient institution, and a pillar of the constitution. Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Meanwhile, newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.
The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging. With a cloud hanging over Prince Andrew as well as Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. As the new Prince and Princess of Wales, 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.
Courtiers reveals an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.
Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers - the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle - to ensure its survival as a family, an ancient institution, and a pillar of the constitution. Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Meanwhile, newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.
The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging. With a cloud hanging over Prince Andrew as well as Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. As the new Prince and Princess of Wales, 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.
Courtiers reveals an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2022
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews
July 15, 2023
Review Given that Prince Harry and his book Spare are the royal gossip de jour, I thought it was interesting what Courtiers had to say about him and how he changed when Meghan came on the scene.
His problem with the media is explained best in this book. There is a system called the 'royal rota' whereby all royal correspondents get equal access to events with the Palace controlling the number of media outlets who could attend the various events. Harry wanted to exclude the tabloids that he said wrote inaccurate stories about him (and every other member of the royal family at one time or another) and only allow access to the press that he felt were more respectable or did not have full-time royal correspondents. This was his absolute obsession.
He would continually accuse the courtiers, those in Buckingham Palace and those who worked for his father, of not fighting for him. He said they were institutionalised and suffered from "palace syndrome' and was constantly testing them. If they wouldn't fight for him in the media, he would say they had palace syndrome and had just become 'one of them'. One courtier said, the constant tests of loyalty were exhausting.' If he acted like this as the spare, just imagine what he might have been like as the heir?
It wasn't privacy from the media that Harry wanted when he and Meghan went to the US, no, it was control of what was printed, resulting in a daily barrage of positive PR releases from the several PR companies and their favoured 'sources'. Not forgetting Oprah who is on a par with the tabloids when it comes to allowing celebrities to spout their 'truths', facts be damned.
The book was good. 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. And like most CEOs making decisions in the boardroom based on what their advisors tell them. And those beneath either toe the line, or like Harry make an almighty fuss at every possible occasion, behind the scenes before his marriage, very publicly and for money, after it. Meghan was not the cause of Harry's absolute disgruntlement with never going to be King, but she was the catalyst, the one in the know about the media and what they would pay in the US, she was the one who gave him flying lessons. And there he was, flying solo with Spare after being pilot-in-training on Oprah and Netflix with Meghan.
If you want to know the inner workings of the Royal Family institution, this is a really good book, but probably best read alongside … And What Do You Do?: What The Royal Family Don't Want You To Know showing the sheer financial corruption of the Royals and exposing them as not always quite the nice people, the media often portray them as. The author, Norman Baker was a highly-placed politician who prided himself on "uncovering scandals and conflicts of interest" in government, and in this book, in the Royal family.
__________
Reading notes The palace is a microcosm of society. You have the workers who do everything physical. The lowest pick up the corgi dog shit and the highest are the chefs who cater for King Charles' very finicky palate. He likes two plums for breakfast. Plums from his Highgrove Estate. He always eat only one and sends back the other, so someone had the bright idea of sending him only one plum for breakfast. This upset Charles no end who Wanted his Other Plum just so as he could send it back.
In the middle are the personal servants whose bosses are the royal person they work for. These are the pages, the valets and the dressers. And probably a whole host of other ones as the Royals, with the possible exception of Prince William (and I'm sure Princess Anne who mucks out her own chickens), cannot actually manage rather simple tasks like turning on the bath water. Prince Charles likes his water at an exact temperature and it has been said many times although it may be apocryphal, toothpaste squeezed on his toothbrush and his socks laid out in a particular way.
These personal servants have great power. The Queen Mother on receiving advice that one of her gay pages was having a really, really good time outside of work and that he should be fired, from a higher-up, said that the jobs of the pages were not negotiable, but theirs were! Spoken by a woman who liked a really really good time herself and was very close to at least one of her gay pages - Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant.
The most famous of the personal servants was Angela Kelly, a working class divorcee from Liverpool, who rose from dresser to dress designer and who famously didn't let Meghan try on the tiara for her wedding when her hairdresser was in town because she hadn't made an appointment and was busy elsewhere. (That was when Harry had his famous, 'what Meghan wants Meghan gets' outburst). However, much as the slant of this story was against Meghan, one has to wonder as if that was the entire truth, given that Angela Kelly's nickname was AK47! She is the only person the Queen authorised to write a book about her, in fact three books The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe is one of them.
Elizabeth the Queen Mother was so lazy and entitled, she would ask for a page to fetch her handbag even if it was in the same room. And being very fond of alcohol liked everyone to get as drunk as herself so at her dinners and banquets putting one's hand over one's glass to stop it being refilled didn't work, her page would just pour the wine through the fingers. William by contrast, cut the staff he travelled with down to a minimum, packed his own bag one suit, pair of shoes and didn't care if his shirt was ripped. That perhaps was a bit extreme.
Now he and Princess Kate have moved into a four bedroom house with no staff at all. They live in the next house it is true, but obviously Kate is picking up her own handbag, and William going to the fridge to get a bottle of beer all by himself. I wonder what makes them so different? I think it is because Kate is from a very ordinary background. Her grandmother lived in a council house (project housing to Americans), her parents were ground staff at an airline, and built up a very successful business of selling items for parties, paper plates on up enough to afford private education.
So although Kate has a very wealthy background, it's just an ordinary middle class one and she lived with William for 10 years before marrying. I would think that she and her family would think that picking up your own handbag and putting the kids to bed yourself was a much more rewarding life than having people hang around you day and night and knowing that they would gossip about you, become 'unnamed sources close to the palace" and probably sell their stories one day. Although perhaps not for the $32M that Prince Harry has got from Netflix from doing the dirt on his own family.
Then we come to the middle-middle class of those who work at the palace. These are the admin staff, those who come as junior secretaries, work in the press office and never get their fingers dirty and eat quite separately. If they are the 'right kind of people' then they stand a chance of promotion. If they are the wrong kind of people, ie Daddy was a post office clerk, Mum worked in a school and they went to the local comprehensive, then they only have a teeny chance of promotion, but it happens.
At the top of the tree are the men in grey suits, as Diana called them, who run the Royals lives. The Royals really are a working bunch. They really do have proper jobs and although they are much kow-towed too, they have commitments, open this, speech here, travel abroad to get this contract, make up with this king, save some country from deciding it wants to be a republic, sell a load of jets. These are the planners, these are the aristocracy of the staff who work at the palace. These are the Courtiers.
And this book is about them.
Qualifications to become a courtier (but there are a few exceptions). Be white, be male, have been in the army, and most important of all, come from a titled, aristocratic background where your family mixed, at least peripherally with the royal family. That way you can blend in a bit and not embarrass people by saying things like the lounge or one step up the living room, or one up from that, the sitting room, but have saying 'the drawing room' come naturally.
Their bosses, are the top of the tree aristocracy. Personal secretary to this royal or that, head of the Press Office, those who liaise with the Foreign office and plan tours, those who arrange all the things that the royal family do that look like they aren't political but are. And these may not look like highly political appointments but they really are, these men and few women, who are minders to the royals and arrange their lives, releasing statements to the press and writing their speeches. They are the link between government and the royals. 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.
There is one level of servant not discussed in the book. These are the people called Ladies or Lords in Waiting or of the Bedchamber. They are all aristocratic, drawn from friends and family of the royals and accompany them on every trip whether to an opening of a toilet-seat making company that had brought employment to an area of great depression or to see the King of Saudi Arabia about an arms deal (Prince Charles has been on over 25 trips to Saudi Arabia, mostly personal visits but his Lords-in-Waiting would have accompanied them although he doesn't call them that. A rose by any other name. What does Charles like so much about this repressive country where human rights scarcely exist? Is it that the King has real power? Even as far as echoes of Henry VIII 'chop off their heads?')
The job of Person-in-Waiting is to hold handbags, receive flowers, answer personal correspondence, and in Lady Anne Tennant's case for Princess Margaret, look after her sick boss by herself as she wanted no servants to even bring her meals, make her bed or anything else). This level of employment is not paid and is like exploiting your best friend but at least they get to travel and go to all the best banquets!
And then, years later, do what the lower-down lackeys do, spill the beans, give interviews to the Daily Mail, write a book. The royals can't trust anyone!
He was fun to work with on tours when he wasn’t angry,’ said the source. ‘Very creative, very hands-on . . . He worked hard on tours. He cared about things not being done in a predictable way. He wanted engagements and speeches to be really good. He took every single thing he did, on tours in particular, really seriously . . . But the need for fights was there the whole time.’ When he was angry, he would go red in the face until he calmed down and ‘it was non-stop texting, messaging through the night.In other words, when things were going his way he was a reasonable human being, but when they weren't he was a spoiled overprivileged brat who used his position to make everyone else miserable knowing they couldn't even answer back.
His problem with the media is explained best in this book. There is a system called the 'royal rota' whereby all royal correspondents get equal access to events with the Palace controlling the number of media outlets who could attend the various events. Harry wanted to exclude the tabloids that he said wrote inaccurate stories about him (and every other member of the royal family at one time or another) and only allow access to the press that he felt were more respectable or did not have full-time royal correspondents. This was his absolute obsession.
He would continually accuse the courtiers, those in Buckingham Palace and those who worked for his father, of not fighting for him. He said they were institutionalised and suffered from "palace syndrome' and was constantly testing them. If they wouldn't fight for him in the media, he would say they had palace syndrome and had just become 'one of them'. One courtier said, the constant tests of loyalty were exhausting.' If he acted like this as the spare, just imagine what he might have been like as the heir?
It wasn't privacy from the media that Harry wanted when he and Meghan went to the US, no, it was control of what was printed, resulting in a daily barrage of positive PR releases from the several PR companies and their favoured 'sources'. Not forgetting Oprah who is on a par with the tabloids when it comes to allowing celebrities to spout their 'truths', facts be damned.
Harry wanted to have a good, close relationship with everyone who worked for him, not just his private secretary. It was a contrast to what would happen when he married Meghan:She had strict demarcation lines and did not have anything to do with anyone other than the most senior officials.
The book was good. 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. And like most CEOs making decisions in the boardroom based on what their advisors tell them. And those beneath either toe the line, or like Harry make an almighty fuss at every possible occasion, behind the scenes before his marriage, very publicly and for money, after it. Meghan was not the cause of Harry's absolute disgruntlement with never going to be King, but she was the catalyst, the one in the know about the media and what they would pay in the US, she was the one who gave him flying lessons. And there he was, flying solo with Spare after being pilot-in-training on Oprah and Netflix with Meghan.
If you want to know the inner workings of the Royal Family institution, this is a really good book, but probably best read alongside … And What Do You Do?: What The Royal Family Don't Want You To Know showing the sheer financial corruption of the Royals and exposing them as not always quite the nice people, the media often portray them as. The author, Norman Baker was a highly-placed politician who prided himself on "uncovering scandals and conflicts of interest" in government, and in this book, in the Royal family.
__________
Reading notes The palace is a microcosm of society. You have the workers who do everything physical. The lowest pick up the corgi dog shit and the highest are the chefs who cater for King Charles' very finicky palate. He likes two plums for breakfast. Plums from his Highgrove Estate. He always eat only one and sends back the other, so someone had the bright idea of sending him only one plum for breakfast. This upset Charles no end who Wanted his Other Plum just so as he could send it back.
In the middle are the personal servants whose bosses are the royal person they work for. These are the pages, the valets and the dressers. And probably a whole host of other ones as the Royals, with the possible exception of Prince William (and I'm sure Princess Anne who mucks out her own chickens), cannot actually manage rather simple tasks like turning on the bath water. Prince Charles likes his water at an exact temperature and it has been said many times although it may be apocryphal, toothpaste squeezed on his toothbrush and his socks laid out in a particular way.
These personal servants have great power. The Queen Mother on receiving advice that one of her gay pages was having a really, really good time outside of work and that he should be fired, from a higher-up, said that the jobs of the pages were not negotiable, but theirs were! Spoken by a woman who liked a really really good time herself and was very close to at least one of her gay pages - Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant.
The most famous of the personal servants was Angela Kelly, a working class divorcee from Liverpool, who rose from dresser to dress designer and who famously didn't let Meghan try on the tiara for her wedding when her hairdresser was in town because she hadn't made an appointment and was busy elsewhere. (That was when Harry had his famous, 'what Meghan wants Meghan gets' outburst). However, much as the slant of this story was against Meghan, one has to wonder as if that was the entire truth, given that Angela Kelly's nickname was AK47! She is the only person the Queen authorised to write a book about her, in fact three books The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe is one of them.
Elizabeth the Queen Mother was so lazy and entitled, she would ask for a page to fetch her handbag even if it was in the same room. And being very fond of alcohol liked everyone to get as drunk as herself so at her dinners and banquets putting one's hand over one's glass to stop it being refilled didn't work, her page would just pour the wine through the fingers. William by contrast, cut the staff he travelled with down to a minimum, packed his own bag one suit, pair of shoes and didn't care if his shirt was ripped. That perhaps was a bit extreme.
Now he and Princess Kate have moved into a four bedroom house with no staff at all. They live in the next house it is true, but obviously Kate is picking up her own handbag, and William going to the fridge to get a bottle of beer all by himself. I wonder what makes them so different? I think it is because Kate is from a very ordinary background. Her grandmother lived in a council house (project housing to Americans), her parents were ground staff at an airline, and built up a very successful business of selling items for parties, paper plates on up enough to afford private education.
So although Kate has a very wealthy background, it's just an ordinary middle class one and she lived with William for 10 years before marrying. I would think that she and her family would think that picking up your own handbag and putting the kids to bed yourself was a much more rewarding life than having people hang around you day and night and knowing that they would gossip about you, become 'unnamed sources close to the palace" and probably sell their stories one day. Although perhaps not for the $32M that Prince Harry has got from Netflix from doing the dirt on his own family.
Then we come to the middle-middle class of those who work at the palace. These are the admin staff, those who come as junior secretaries, work in the press office and never get their fingers dirty and eat quite separately. If they are the 'right kind of people' then they stand a chance of promotion. If they are the wrong kind of people, ie Daddy was a post office clerk, Mum worked in a school and they went to the local comprehensive, then they only have a teeny chance of promotion, but it happens.
At the top of the tree are the men in grey suits, as Diana called them, who run the Royals lives. The Royals really are a working bunch. They really do have proper jobs and although they are much kow-towed too, they have commitments, open this, speech here, travel abroad to get this contract, make up with this king, save some country from deciding it wants to be a republic, sell a load of jets. These are the planners, these are the aristocracy of the staff who work at the palace. These are the Courtiers.
And this book is about them.
Qualifications to become a courtier (but there are a few exceptions). Be white, be male, have been in the army, and most important of all, come from a titled, aristocratic background where your family mixed, at least peripherally with the royal family. That way you can blend in a bit and not embarrass people by saying things like the lounge or one step up the living room, or one up from that, the sitting room, but have saying 'the drawing room' come naturally.
Their bosses, are the top of the tree aristocracy. Personal secretary to this royal or that, head of the Press Office, those who liaise with the Foreign office and plan tours, those who arrange all the things that the royal family do that look like they aren't political but are. And these may not look like highly political appointments but they really are, these men and few women, who are minders to the royals and arrange their lives, releasing statements to the press and writing their speeches. They are the link between government and the royals. 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.
There is one level of servant not discussed in the book. These are the people called Ladies or Lords in Waiting or of the Bedchamber. They are all aristocratic, drawn from friends and family of the royals and accompany them on every trip whether to an opening of a toilet-seat making company that had brought employment to an area of great depression or to see the King of Saudi Arabia about an arms deal (Prince Charles has been on over 25 trips to Saudi Arabia, mostly personal visits but his Lords-in-Waiting would have accompanied them although he doesn't call them that. A rose by any other name. What does Charles like so much about this repressive country where human rights scarcely exist? Is it that the King has real power? Even as far as echoes of Henry VIII 'chop off their heads?')
The job of Person-in-Waiting is to hold handbags, receive flowers, answer personal correspondence, and in Lady Anne Tennant's case for Princess Margaret, look after her sick boss by herself as she wanted no servants to even bring her meals, make her bed or anything else). This level of employment is not paid and is like exploiting your best friend but at least they get to travel and go to all the best banquets!
And then, years later, do what the lower-down lackeys do, spill the beans, give interviews to the Daily Mail, write a book. The royals can't trust anyone!
November 7, 2022
A long and quite boring book about palace protocol and politics, from the courtiers' point of view. We get some inside juice on some recent events, such as Megxit, which really does not put Harry and Meghan in a positive light. Somewhere in the middle I could not find one iota of interest. I kept listening to it anyway. The ending, with more recent events, rounded it off well enough. Only recommended if you are really, really interested in the workings of the British royals.
February 10, 2023
3.5 Stars
There was a lot of buzz about this new book regarding The Windsors around the time of Queen Elizabeth II's death. It was just released late January 2023, but does not include the death of The Queen. As the title of the book implies, it focuses on the courtiers that serve British royalty, dubbed by palace insiders as "The Grey Men". As a result the book was a tad dry and boring. A lot of these courtiers have names that sound vaguely familiar to me, dating back decades into the mists of earlier royals. Their interactions with royalty, good and bad decision-making, and how they exited the job are discussed. I found myself skimming intermittently depending on my level of interest. Just past the 50% mark the read became riveting as it covered Prince Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle. This author has a lot of contacts from the royal household, both anonymous and documented on the record. As a result, the second half of the book was phenomenal. It gave an excellent, balanced and logical overview of the "Mexit" situation.
Thank you to my free public library for purchasing this book at my request.
There was a lot of buzz about this new book regarding The Windsors around the time of Queen Elizabeth II's death. It was just released late January 2023, but does not include the death of The Queen. As the title of the book implies, it focuses on the courtiers that serve British royalty, dubbed by palace insiders as "The Grey Men". As a result the book was a tad dry and boring. A lot of these courtiers have names that sound vaguely familiar to me, dating back decades into the mists of earlier royals. Their interactions with royalty, good and bad decision-making, and how they exited the job are discussed. I found myself skimming intermittently depending on my level of interest. Just past the 50% mark the read became riveting as it covered Prince Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle. This author has a lot of contacts from the royal household, both anonymous and documented on the record. As a result, the second half of the book was phenomenal. It gave an excellent, balanced and logical overview of the "Mexit" situation.
Thank you to my free public library for purchasing this book at my request.
February 4, 2023
Courtiers is a look at the powers behind the royal family. It is written by a member of the media so it portrays the courtiers more favorably than I think is realistic. It appears to also be an attempt to soften the reality of the way Diana was treated, which I don’t think is fair. There is a much more favorable treatment of Charles and Camilla in this book while Harry and Meghan are raked over the coals. I have yet to read a book about Harry and Meghan which is not skewed to one extreme or the other. This book also spends more time on the anti-Harry diatribes than others. I would not look for the truth here.
December 22, 2022
Edited 12/22/22 to add:
I am being contacted by white British folks letting me know that what is being presented in these gossip rag books is not indicative of how average white British people feel.
I truly want to let those who have reached out to me know how much I appreciate them and their comments.
I always appreciate knowing the world isn't as horrid a place as it appears.
This clip from twitter was sent to me 3 times yesterday and once this morning so I'm adding it here:
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/160568...
Again thank you for reaching out and I appreciate the additional understanding:)
Original Review 12/18/22:
'The Queen’s courtiers banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from serving in clerical roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, according to newly discovered documents that will reignite the debate over the British royal family and race.
The documents also shed light on how Buckingham Palace negotiated controversial clauses – that remain in place to this day – exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination.'
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...
'...Buckingham Palace published its diversity statistics for the first time and pledged to do more to improve on the then 8.5% of ethnic minority employees within the household. Today, the Palace has given an update on its progress, sharing that it now has 9.6% of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds with a target of 10% by the end of this year.'
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/soc...
In 2011 about 80% of the UK population was listed as white British, I think 85% of the population as white period.
So I think a 10% rate of diversity at the Palace *is* reflective of society at large and that its failed to happen before now *is* a reflection on racism within in the Monarchial system.
It's not even unconscious. It was a policy. So it's operated as a racist institution within fairly recent decades.
Because institutions that aren't racist don't have policies restricting employees based on race.
These are not complicated concepts folks.
British reactions to Black US Soldiers during WW2 in rebuttal to the idea that the late Queen Lizzie II was 'a product of her times'.
Cause no the fuck she wasn't.
This is the 40's and she was alive during this period.
https://theconversation.com/black-tro...
This isn't directly related but is fascinating nonetheless.
https://academic.oup.com/restud/artic...
Not to mention why should Elizabeth II be head of state to nations with POC populations if she's racist against the people of the nations that she's head of? That's gross and disgusting and a reflection of her character or lack thereof.
She was a racist.
The institution she headed is racist.
Her family is racist.
These are all verifiable facts.
The gaslighting is ridiculous and tiresome.
Next the vilification of Meghan. The author spends so much time on the fake bullying complaints against Meghan. This is after chronicling that Queen Elizabeth II's father hit his staff, physically struck them.
King Charles III threw stuff at his staff.
Prince Andrew, Princess Margaret and Prince Philip are all also noted with specific and horrific examples of being cruel and verbally abusive to staff.
None of these Royals have HR complaints against them.
The complaints about Meghan are largely her being firm and direct. None of the comments are cruel or verbally abusive.
So the HR complaint is clearly racism.
I also think it's manufactured.
Kensington Palace, The Cambridges using Jason Knauf have been steadily leaking false stories about Meghan. They did so in exchange for the press not printing the stories of William's affair with Rose.
To downplay the fact that Prince Andrew raped an underage sex trafficking victim.
So if Meghan was formally accused of anything during that time period it would've been leaked to the tabloids.
The first story to break in regards to bullying was Wills bullying Harry at the Sandringham Summitt which Harry confirmed was true.
Conveniently right before Meghan & Harry could have their Oprah interview the palace came up with bullying claims.
It's laughably ridiculous.
Just a paper thin bullshit defense.
Valentine refuses to deal with Meghan's racist experiences in the UK and with the Palace. He ignores that the Queen herself was racist so it's not a stretch that her staff and family are as well.
He pretends that she 'wanted to be rejected' this is a common claim when dealing with racism.
It's similar to claims of race baiting.
It's just a flex of white supremacy.
If a POC/BAME experiences racism it can only get better by pointing this out and educating the offender.
Instead the offender pretends to be the victim and claims that marginalized folks are too sensitive or think everything is racism.
The thing is everything in the Western Wirld runs on racism. When a POC/BAME points racism out and asks directly for accommodations that's not a fault with the POC/BAME, that's a fault with the system.
Claims that POC/BAME want to be rejected or were looking for racism are just racists themselves trying to silence their victims. Those racists feel like they get to be the deciders of what is racism and who is a victim.
These are the same people who pass literal white comfort bills in which it's against the law to state historical facts that hurt white people's feelings.
No shit.
So clearly the problem is racism.
It's exhausting.
Meghan left.
She's not tied to y'all, accepts no money from y'all and STILL y'all can't move on.
It's only racism that makes white people behave in such violent and nonsensical ways.
Meghan has more death threats than all members of the British Royal Family combined. Her children have public death threats.
Something that no one else in the royal family is facing or has ever faced.
Her concerns were real, valid and logical.
Instead of making common sense changes the UK ran her out the country.
Now they're mad that she's not just letting them tell the story from their point of view.
The thing is Fergie & Diana experienced some of what Meghan's dealt with. It's well documented.
Rather than grow, adjust and learn from the past, the family has now openly associated itself with racism and is considered globally a racist family.
A charge the family can't deny, deflect or pretend isn't real.
Honestly this will age poorly. This is about race and in 20 yrs Black people will still be here, still talking about race.
This was studied formally and scientifically.
Meghan is being attacked because of her race. It's not a question.
The Palace also used race against Meghan.
The impact of this is ALREADY being felt in the Commonwealth.
It's going to get worse.
Meghan was a chance for the royal family to make visible substantive changes.
Instead Wills & Kate were jealous and threatened by Meghan's popularity.
So they worked to destroy her in the press while she was pregnant.
William is an asshole.
Not sure how he's gonna argue he's not racist when he failed to speak against the racism inflicted on his own sister in law, nephew and niece.
He WILL have to respond and answer at some point.
This will impact his reign for sure and most likely his father's reign as well.
Stop acting like the Sussex's giving interviews and writing books is betrayal.
King Charles III participated in a biography and televised interview with Dimbleby.
Princess Diana did the book with Morton and interview with Bashir.
Fergie wrote a biography and gave a televised interview to Oprah.
Prince Andrew has given more than 1 horrible interview.
In all of the above instances the Royals both complained and explained repeatedly.
So it just bothers the British public with Harry and Meghan for clearly racial reasons.
The hardest is the author acknowledges that the staff knew about Meghan's suicidal struggles. He claims the palace staff didn't believe her. He claims they feared she was using it to be able to later say the job broke her.
Here's where that defense falls apart: if she was always going to use this as a weapon against the institution wouldn't it have made more sense to get her help? Then the institution would have evidence of their support.
Instead they chose not to believe her. Even though Diana, Fergie and others who married into family have found the experience overwhelming and it impacted their mental health.
So why would Meghan not be believed?
Because she was Black.
The institution had already decided that they would let her know if she was REALLY feeling suicidal, they would let her know If the vitriol was REALLY racism or just her own fault for being American.
This is epic level gaslighting. It's bullying and abusive as fuck.
The staff risked her and Archie's death from mental illness all because they were too racist to listen to an educated, successful career woman in her mid 30's.
Clearly Meghan and Harry HAD to leave. The Monarchy isn't ready for them yet.
Their treatment will impact the Monarchy much more than it will harm them.
After all the monarchy has to make a case for its relevance. At this point Meghan & Harry are just socialites & philanthropists. They don't need to do anything more than The Clinton's or The Obama's do.
This bothers the racist so much. This is why the harass the fuck out of Meghan until even her son has had public death threats.
The British Press is abusive and they work hand in hand with the monarchy.
This will have to be answered and British folks gone be so fucking embarrassed by their rabidly racist behavior.
Bet it's the same racist talking heads belittling them now, apologizing and trying to explain.
White mediocrity is so incredibly predictable.
TL/DR: this is fascinating but racist as fuck🤷🏾♀️
Luckily I was able to pirate this:)
I am being contacted by white British folks letting me know that what is being presented in these gossip rag books is not indicative of how average white British people feel.
I truly want to let those who have reached out to me know how much I appreciate them and their comments.
I always appreciate knowing the world isn't as horrid a place as it appears.
This clip from twitter was sent to me 3 times yesterday and once this morning so I'm adding it here:
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/160568...
Again thank you for reaching out and I appreciate the additional understanding:)
Original Review 12/18/22:
'The Queen’s courtiers banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from serving in clerical roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, according to newly discovered documents that will reignite the debate over the British royal family and race.
The documents also shed light on how Buckingham Palace negotiated controversial clauses – that remain in place to this day – exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination.'
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...
'...Buckingham Palace published its diversity statistics for the first time and pledged to do more to improve on the then 8.5% of ethnic minority employees within the household. Today, the Palace has given an update on its progress, sharing that it now has 9.6% of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds with a target of 10% by the end of this year.'
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/soc...
In 2011 about 80% of the UK population was listed as white British, I think 85% of the population as white period.
So I think a 10% rate of diversity at the Palace *is* reflective of society at large and that its failed to happen before now *is* a reflection on racism within in the Monarchial system.
It's not even unconscious. It was a policy. So it's operated as a racist institution within fairly recent decades.
Because institutions that aren't racist don't have policies restricting employees based on race.
These are not complicated concepts folks.
British reactions to Black US Soldiers during WW2 in rebuttal to the idea that the late Queen Lizzie II was 'a product of her times'.
Cause no the fuck she wasn't.
This is the 40's and she was alive during this period.
https://theconversation.com/black-tro...
This isn't directly related but is fascinating nonetheless.
https://academic.oup.com/restud/artic...
Not to mention why should Elizabeth II be head of state to nations with POC populations if she's racist against the people of the nations that she's head of? That's gross and disgusting and a reflection of her character or lack thereof.
She was a racist.
The institution she headed is racist.
Her family is racist.
These are all verifiable facts.
The gaslighting is ridiculous and tiresome.
Next the vilification of Meghan. The author spends so much time on the fake bullying complaints against Meghan. This is after chronicling that Queen Elizabeth II's father hit his staff, physically struck them.
King Charles III threw stuff at his staff.
Prince Andrew, Princess Margaret and Prince Philip are all also noted with specific and horrific examples of being cruel and verbally abusive to staff.
None of these Royals have HR complaints against them.
The complaints about Meghan are largely her being firm and direct. None of the comments are cruel or verbally abusive.
So the HR complaint is clearly racism.
I also think it's manufactured.
Kensington Palace, The Cambridges using Jason Knauf have been steadily leaking false stories about Meghan. They did so in exchange for the press not printing the stories of William's affair with Rose.
To downplay the fact that Prince Andrew raped an underage sex trafficking victim.
So if Meghan was formally accused of anything during that time period it would've been leaked to the tabloids.
The first story to break in regards to bullying was Wills bullying Harry at the Sandringham Summitt which Harry confirmed was true.
Conveniently right before Meghan & Harry could have their Oprah interview the palace came up with bullying claims.
It's laughably ridiculous.
Just a paper thin bullshit defense.
Valentine refuses to deal with Meghan's racist experiences in the UK and with the Palace. He ignores that the Queen herself was racist so it's not a stretch that her staff and family are as well.
He pretends that she 'wanted to be rejected' this is a common claim when dealing with racism.
It's similar to claims of race baiting.
It's just a flex of white supremacy.
If a POC/BAME experiences racism it can only get better by pointing this out and educating the offender.
Instead the offender pretends to be the victim and claims that marginalized folks are too sensitive or think everything is racism.
The thing is everything in the Western Wirld runs on racism. When a POC/BAME points racism out and asks directly for accommodations that's not a fault with the POC/BAME, that's a fault with the system.
Claims that POC/BAME want to be rejected or were looking for racism are just racists themselves trying to silence their victims. Those racists feel like they get to be the deciders of what is racism and who is a victim.
These are the same people who pass literal white comfort bills in which it's against the law to state historical facts that hurt white people's feelings.
No shit.
So clearly the problem is racism.
It's exhausting.
Meghan left.
She's not tied to y'all, accepts no money from y'all and STILL y'all can't move on.
It's only racism that makes white people behave in such violent and nonsensical ways.
Meghan has more death threats than all members of the British Royal Family combined. Her children have public death threats.
Something that no one else in the royal family is facing or has ever faced.
Her concerns were real, valid and logical.
Instead of making common sense changes the UK ran her out the country.
Now they're mad that she's not just letting them tell the story from their point of view.
The thing is Fergie & Diana experienced some of what Meghan's dealt with. It's well documented.
Rather than grow, adjust and learn from the past, the family has now openly associated itself with racism and is considered globally a racist family.
A charge the family can't deny, deflect or pretend isn't real.
Honestly this will age poorly. This is about race and in 20 yrs Black people will still be here, still talking about race.
This was studied formally and scientifically.
Meghan is being attacked because of her race. It's not a question.
The Palace also used race against Meghan.
The impact of this is ALREADY being felt in the Commonwealth.
It's going to get worse.
Meghan was a chance for the royal family to make visible substantive changes.
Instead Wills & Kate were jealous and threatened by Meghan's popularity.
So they worked to destroy her in the press while she was pregnant.
William is an asshole.
Not sure how he's gonna argue he's not racist when he failed to speak against the racism inflicted on his own sister in law, nephew and niece.
He WILL have to respond and answer at some point.
This will impact his reign for sure and most likely his father's reign as well.
Stop acting like the Sussex's giving interviews and writing books is betrayal.
King Charles III participated in a biography and televised interview with Dimbleby.
Princess Diana did the book with Morton and interview with Bashir.
Fergie wrote a biography and gave a televised interview to Oprah.
Prince Andrew has given more than 1 horrible interview.
In all of the above instances the Royals both complained and explained repeatedly.
So it just bothers the British public with Harry and Meghan for clearly racial reasons.
The hardest is the author acknowledges that the staff knew about Meghan's suicidal struggles. He claims the palace staff didn't believe her. He claims they feared she was using it to be able to later say the job broke her.
Here's where that defense falls apart: if she was always going to use this as a weapon against the institution wouldn't it have made more sense to get her help? Then the institution would have evidence of their support.
Instead they chose not to believe her. Even though Diana, Fergie and others who married into family have found the experience overwhelming and it impacted their mental health.
So why would Meghan not be believed?
Because she was Black.
The institution had already decided that they would let her know if she was REALLY feeling suicidal, they would let her know If the vitriol was REALLY racism or just her own fault for being American.
This is epic level gaslighting. It's bullying and abusive as fuck.
The staff risked her and Archie's death from mental illness all because they were too racist to listen to an educated, successful career woman in her mid 30's.
Clearly Meghan and Harry HAD to leave. The Monarchy isn't ready for them yet.
Their treatment will impact the Monarchy much more than it will harm them.
After all the monarchy has to make a case for its relevance. At this point Meghan & Harry are just socialites & philanthropists. They don't need to do anything more than The Clinton's or The Obama's do.
This bothers the racist so much. This is why the harass the fuck out of Meghan until even her son has had public death threats.
The British Press is abusive and they work hand in hand with the monarchy.
This will have to be answered and British folks gone be so fucking embarrassed by their rabidly racist behavior.
Bet it's the same racist talking heads belittling them now, apologizing and trying to explain.
White mediocrity is so incredibly predictable.
TL/DR: this is fascinating but racist as fuck🤷🏾♀️
Luckily I was able to pirate this:)
November 6, 2022
I have been waiting to get my hands on this for about a month and it was worth the wait. Really fascinating look at the behind the scenes elements of the BRF, and how complicated working within the institution is for both the principals and the staff. Would definitely recommend if this is a subject of interest for you.
October 8, 2022
To read the reviews, you'd think this was just about the Sussexes but is, in fact, a strong overview of the roles of those who surround the principals of the Royal Family as paid advisors and fixers - the courtiers - primarily during the late Queen's long reign. They are to be distinguished from the staff - ie the servants - although the central premise is that they too serve. The book steers a skilful course through chatty anecdote and historical fact, making it both readable and informative. 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 Princes at Kensington Palace before their respective marriages, via the Queen's dutiful, often 50's mentality mired, Buckingham Palace - as well as their endless tensions and in-fighting. 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. The book also throws more light on the complexities behind the funding issues, usually so simplified in the debates about how much the RF costs 'us' and the sheer size of the operations required to run so many households and charitable endeavours. And for those interested in Megxit, especially those able to understand journalistic sourcing codes and bothered to follow footnotes, there is a fairly even handed and authentic account of what life was like for courtiers in the Sussex household. Very readable and better than expected given the Mail serialisation.
October 10, 2022
Just finished the book. I find it is a quite balanced summary of the life and roles of courtiers. Sometimes very detailed, very lengthy, since Valentine Low starts with ancient history at court. The first two chapters were a bit dull because of that, but after reading on I understood it painted a complete picture of what a courtier is and is not. With that cleared up, you have a better understanding of their jobs and functions.
The book also offers a highly detailed description of what the various jobs of staff entails, and who held those jobs. A bit of a history lesson of who was where and did what, which was sometimes a bit dry to read. Starting at chapter 8, things starts to get a bit interesting IMO. (Still, I don’t need to know the political situation in 1910.)
Of course the whole Harry/Meghan saga is discussed, but not in a judgemental way. I think he paints a fair and balanced picture of what makes the ‘Firm’ work. Knowing that, the writer takes a closer look at why it didn’t work with Harry and Meghan Markle, and it is clear that there are two reasons for that, and those are not compatible with the monarchy. That explains why Queen Elizabeth as monarch put her foot down on various occasions, despite H+M blaming ‘the institution’ and courtiers. It was the Queen who said ‘no’ in several situations, not courtiers. Those courtiers bent over backwards to accommodate the couple, to no avail, probably because the two before mentioned reasons fundamentally did not fit into what the monarchy stands for.
Last but not least: The ‘lack of diversity’ is well explained in a few paragraphs and does the Queen justice.
Overall a well researched book on the inner workings of the monarchy, the behind-the-scenes of the Firm, but definitely not a summary of gossip, as some might expect.
The book also offers a highly detailed description of what the various jobs of staff entails, and who held those jobs. A bit of a history lesson of who was where and did what, which was sometimes a bit dry to read. Starting at chapter 8, things starts to get a bit interesting IMO. (Still, I don’t need to know the political situation in 1910.)
Of course the whole Harry/Meghan saga is discussed, but not in a judgemental way. I think he paints a fair and balanced picture of what makes the ‘Firm’ work. Knowing that, the writer takes a closer look at why it didn’t work with Harry and Meghan Markle, and it is clear that there are two reasons for that, and those are not compatible with the monarchy. That explains why Queen Elizabeth as monarch put her foot down on various occasions, despite H+M blaming ‘the institution’ and courtiers. It was the Queen who said ‘no’ in several situations, not courtiers. Those courtiers bent over backwards to accommodate the couple, to no avail, probably because the two before mentioned reasons fundamentally did not fit into what the monarchy stands for.
Last but not least: The ‘lack of diversity’ is well explained in a few paragraphs and does the Queen justice.
Overall a well researched book on the inner workings of the monarchy, the behind-the-scenes of the Firm, but definitely not a summary of gossip, as some might expect.
October 7, 2022
It's worth the hype.
At first I wanted to read the Harry and Meghan stuff, but then you get down to it, Valentine has given us a history lesson of all Private Secretaries for the main Royal households. What they were like, where they were from. It is interesting to know what goes on behind the scenes especially these days. Of course some of this has all now changed again as we have a new monarch. Very interesting and very truthful. It's not a book that's telling a version of his truth but telling it as facts. Regarding the personalities of the secretaries he has spoken to either them or people that knew them. It helps to clear a lot of what happens behind the scenes.
At first I wanted to read the Harry and Meghan stuff, but then you get down to it, Valentine has given us a history lesson of all Private Secretaries for the main Royal households. What they were like, where they were from. It is interesting to know what goes on behind the scenes especially these days. Of course some of this has all now changed again as we have a new monarch. Very interesting and very truthful. It's not a book that's telling a version of his truth but telling it as facts. Regarding the personalities of the secretaries he has spoken to either them or people that knew them. It helps to clear a lot of what happens behind the scenes.
January 26, 2023
Do you finish a book/audiobook you are not enjoying?
Courtiers by Valentine Low
Audiobook Review 👎
2 ⭐⭐
My thoughts:
I just finished the Courtiers audiobook. I was more than halfway through before I felt "somewhat" engaged. The author reads it. Although he is a respected journalist, he is not an eloquent narrator. The material is flat and underwhelming. It's as if he's reading a history book. I should have skipped this one. The experience was expensive and not worth it. I recommend this book only if you are interested in British history.
Blurb:
Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers—the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle—to ensure its survival as a family and a pillar of the country. Today, as ever, a carefully selected team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Now, a newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.
The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital. Yet, as the tensions within the family are exposed to global scrutiny like never before, the task these courtiers face has never been more challenging. 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. In fascinating and explosive detail, Valentine Low explores the previously unknown relationship between modern courtiers and the royal family.
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. This is the inside story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.
#Courtiers #bookishcommunity #bookstagramcommunity #blogtour #readingcommunity #Books #bookfriends #booksbooksbooks #booksta #bookstagram #newtobookstagram #bookreview #bookreviews #instabookstagram #bookish #bookishielife #Audible #newtobookstagram #newtoinsta
Courtiers by Valentine Low
Audiobook Review 👎
2 ⭐⭐
My thoughts:
I just finished the Courtiers audiobook. I was more than halfway through before I felt "somewhat" engaged. The author reads it. Although he is a respected journalist, he is not an eloquent narrator. The material is flat and underwhelming. It's as if he's reading a history book. I should have skipped this one. The experience was expensive and not worth it. I recommend this book only if you are interested in British history.
Blurb:
Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers—the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle—to ensure its survival as a family and a pillar of the country. Today, as ever, a carefully selected team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Now, a newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.
The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital. Yet, as the tensions within the family are exposed to global scrutiny like never before, the task these courtiers face has never been more challenging. 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. In fascinating and explosive detail, Valentine Low explores the previously unknown relationship between modern courtiers and the royal family.
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. This is the inside story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.
#Courtiers #bookishcommunity #bookstagramcommunity #blogtour #readingcommunity #Books #bookfriends #booksbooksbooks #booksta #bookstagram #newtobookstagram #bookreview #bookreviews #instabookstagram #bookish #bookishielife #Audible #newtobookstagram #newtoinsta
October 8, 2022
A great eye opener
There is much to like about this book. Being a lover of history, I was hooked from the first page. Low's detailed research gives us a wonderful insight into the competitive nature of the three royal households focussed upon in this book, and, in particular, the key courtiers who have run the households over several decades.
Needless to say, their interactions with the Royals also shine a light on the respective Royals themselves and gives us invaluable insight into their character and foibles.
This book is a must-read for any historian and readers of contemporary history and, dare I say it, those interested in psychology.
There is much to like about this book. Being a lover of history, I was hooked from the first page. Low's detailed research gives us a wonderful insight into the competitive nature of the three royal households focussed upon in this book, and, in particular, the key courtiers who have run the households over several decades.
Needless to say, their interactions with the Royals also shine a light on the respective Royals themselves and gives us invaluable insight into their character and foibles.
This book is a must-read for any historian and readers of contemporary history and, dare I say it, those interested in psychology.
January 23, 2023
This was a hard book to get through. It was extremely dry and stodgy. I hate saying that, because I want to love each and every book that I read. But this one was rough. There were some stories that caught my interest throughout. I enjoyed seeing what each person does within the royal household and the importance that they bring to the table. Except for brief tidbits here and there my mind wandered and I could not help but skim the pages. Thank you to St. Martin Press for my gifted copy.
November 7, 2022
It's interesting, but nowhere near as salacious as I was hoping/expecting.
October 21, 2023
This is a fascinating book about people standing behind the royals, sometimes literally. 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.
December 26, 2022
This book is more than current gossip about the Royal Family even though it's got some pretty interesting gossip. It's a history lesson about the people who really run the show - the Courtiers. They are the trusted advisors who work to ensure that the Royal family survives - both publically and privately. They are hidden from the view of the world but have strong input into how the members of the family will be viewed by the public. It covers over 70 years of the monarchy from the Wallis Simpson affair to Prince Andrew's relationship with a known pedophile and the recent issues with Harry and Megan and Brexit. It's up to date so also talks a bit about the death of the queen and King Charles.
Parts of the book are deadly boring and there is a lot of information from 'unnamed sources' but I still found a lot of the book very interesting. Most of the people behind the scenes appear to be old white guys who want to keep the monarchy like it's been forever. No wonder Megan had trouble fitting in - she didn't fit their views of what a princess should act like.
If you are a real follower of the Royal Family, this may be a fun book to skim through but there are no great revelations or juicy gossip. 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.
Parts of the book are deadly boring and there is a lot of information from 'unnamed sources' but I still found a lot of the book very interesting. Most of the people behind the scenes appear to be old white guys who want to keep the monarchy like it's been forever. No wonder Megan had trouble fitting in - she didn't fit their views of what a princess should act like.
If you are a real follower of the Royal Family, this may be a fun book to skim through but there are no great revelations or juicy gossip. 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.
May 22, 2023
I was disappointed that this new 2023 edition from St. Martin's Press did not include the death of Queen Elizabeth and the immediate aftermath. Harry and Meghan do not come out well in this.
February 20, 2023
This was a fascinating read, I knew nothing about what the role of a Courtier was prior to reading this book and I definitely learned a lot. They run the show behind the show basically and so their role as advisor to the monarchy is crucial. There are politics within these ‘back office’ roles if you will, as they are trying to prove their relevance for their next role, particularly when a regime change is coming. They were key in shaping the monarchy but never made final decisions, and they saw so much in this role. I think this is what I enjoyed the most, the tidbits that were dropped throughout in here and most certainly the ones about Meghan Markle. I won’t spoil them here but they only confirmed my thoughts about how she really is and not the persona she is trying to portray.
I thought this was well done, a tad dry in some parts but overall a an educational read that I definitely enjoyed.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy to review.
I thought this was well done, a tad dry in some parts but overall a an educational read that I definitely enjoyed.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy to review.
January 25, 2023
This was so much more satisfying than Spare! The start was a bit slow and at times difficult to understand with all the names and positions being thrown around, but once the mid-90s arrived things settled in and the book became more analytical than pure fact recitation, and so interesting! I found the commentary on Harry and Meagan’s departure was easier to believe and understand with fewer holes and wordsmithing in it. I finished the book feeling “ah, that makes sense and there’s hope for slow change” compared to the frustration and “people suck” that Spare left me with.
October 14, 2022
Fascinating.
February 8, 2023
I don't know why I read this. It was dry and whiny.
June 9, 2023
So history dense, I felt like I was reading a textbook rather than an enjoyable book…
September 30, 2023
This is very well written, and has a perfect blend of explaining what the courtiers do, what they've historically done, how they're looking to change through the 21st century, with a few good gossipy tidbits thrown in too.
February 1, 2023
Courtiers provides a historical account of the British monarchy's courtiers, the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle, from King George VI to the present.
"The courtier is there to guide, to open doors: it is up to the royal whether or they walk through."
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?" but also, the relationships are complex and "the lines between service and friendship were often blurred."
The prologue begins with Harry being rude to the press, and then it goes back in time to work its way through the courtiers dating from Queen Elizabeth II’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, to the present. I found it interesting that each Royal runs their department differently, and it certainly explains why they are rarely on the same page. After reading this account and watching The Crown TV series, I'm begrudgingly liking Charles a bit more, mostly because of his strong work ethic and philanthropic ideas/programs.
About halfway through, I was bored by the content of two chapters, specifically The Golden Triangle (about Scotland voting to become independent from the UK) and Sticking the Knife In (about Christopher Geidt). I was also stunned that Courtiers referred to Harry and Meghan's departure from the Royal family as "Megxit." The use of this term feels rude, unprofessional, disrespectful, and misogynistic since one must assume that Harry and Megan decided TOGETHER to leave the establishment.
If you're a huge fan of the Royals, then I would recommend this book for its very unique stories and viewpoints. Lastly, I was surprised there wasn't more information about William and Kate, especially since they are featured prominently on the cover.
Location: England
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
"The courtier is there to guide, to open doors: it is up to the royal whether or they walk through."
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?" but also, the relationships are complex and "the lines between service and friendship were often blurred."
The prologue begins with Harry being rude to the press, and then it goes back in time to work its way through the courtiers dating from Queen Elizabeth II’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, to the present. I found it interesting that each Royal runs their department differently, and it certainly explains why they are rarely on the same page. After reading this account and watching The Crown TV series, I'm begrudgingly liking Charles a bit more, mostly because of his strong work ethic and philanthropic ideas/programs.
About halfway through, I was bored by the content of two chapters, specifically The Golden Triangle (about Scotland voting to become independent from the UK) and Sticking the Knife In (about Christopher Geidt). I was also stunned that Courtiers referred to Harry and Meghan's departure from the Royal family as "Megxit." The use of this term feels rude, unprofessional, disrespectful, and misogynistic since one must assume that Harry and Megan decided TOGETHER to leave the establishment.
If you're a huge fan of the Royals, then I would recommend this book for its very unique stories and viewpoints. Lastly, I was surprised there wasn't more information about William and Kate, especially since they are featured prominently on the cover.
Location: England
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
January 9, 2023
Courtiers is a fascinating fascinating work of non-fiction by British journalist Valentine Low that takes an in-depth look at the role of courtiers (advisors/attendants to royalty) within the British monarchy. The book defines the positions, particularly that of personal secretary, and looks at them from historical and modern perspectives. Detailed descriptions of the jobs, and people who held them, help paint a picture of the behind-the-scenes workings of "The Firm."
This book is an insightful history lesson complete with anecdotes and historical facts from times as various as the court of Queen Elizabeth I to the present day. Specifics about the personalities of several royals and some of the scandals that courtiers have felt challenged by or cleaned up shine a different light on the people and events we think we know. The chapter about Prince Andrew was particularly eye-opening, as was the information about the lack of diversity among courtiers. This isn't a salacious and gossipy book, however. Instead, it is a well-researched, well-written, and balanced look at the professionals inside the institution of the monarchy who have a job to do while adhering to constitutional regulations, dealing with the press/public, and the personalities and private lives of the royals. History lovers and royalists will both find reasons to love this book!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy of Courtiers. All opinions are my own.
#courtiersbook #valentinelow #smpinfluencer
This book is an insightful history lesson complete with anecdotes and historical facts from times as various as the court of Queen Elizabeth I to the present day. Specifics about the personalities of several royals and some of the scandals that courtiers have felt challenged by or cleaned up shine a different light on the people and events we think we know. The chapter about Prince Andrew was particularly eye-opening, as was the information about the lack of diversity among courtiers. This isn't a salacious and gossipy book, however. Instead, it is a well-researched, well-written, and balanced look at the professionals inside the institution of the monarchy who have a job to do while adhering to constitutional regulations, dealing with the press/public, and the personalities and private lives of the royals. History lovers and royalists will both find reasons to love this book!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy of Courtiers. All opinions are my own.
#courtiersbook #valentinelow #smpinfluencer
January 21, 2023
If you are interested in learning how the palace works and who makes decisions regarding the Royal Family, this book details it all!
The royals all have teams of professionals to guide them through times of crisis. This book gives a glimpse into those inner workings.
I felt like a fly on the palace walls!
However, some of the chapters could get a bit dry. I personally preferred the chapters about how the advisors interacted with the Royal Family, but I understand the purpose of including that information as well. This was such an interesting read! I am trying to read more nonfiction this year, are you? If so, check it out! It is well written and researched!
The royals all have teams of professionals to guide them through times of crisis. This book gives a glimpse into those inner workings.
I felt like a fly on the palace walls!
However, some of the chapters could get a bit dry. I personally preferred the chapters about how the advisors interacted with the Royal Family, but I understand the purpose of including that information as well. This was such an interesting read! I am trying to read more nonfiction this year, are you? If so, check it out! It is well written and researched!
October 10, 2022
So insightful, gripped from the start.
Valentine Low brings a great insight into the royal household and the Courtiers. He writes a brilliant and well researched book and covers the history of the royal household and their private secretaries past to present day. The story behind Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview, Meghan and Catherine who made who cry? William and Harry’s relationship. The Dukes infamous Maitlis interview.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook
Valentine Low brings a great insight into the royal household and the Courtiers. He writes a brilliant and well researched book and covers the history of the royal household and their private secretaries past to present day. The story behind Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview, Meghan and Catherine who made who cry? William and Harry’s relationship. The Dukes infamous Maitlis interview.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook
March 6, 2023
This a fascinating book about the people behind the Royals. I didn’t realize that being a courtier was a job passed down my families.
Some parts are repetitive and not as interesting as others, but either way I was surprised at the power courtiers hold. A really interesting book, 4 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.
Some parts are repetitive and not as interesting as others, but either way I was surprised at the power courtiers hold. A really interesting book, 4 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.
October 30, 2022
Quite a dry read and sometimes it was hard to remember who was a private secretary, who was a communications secretary, who was a press secretary etc. etc. and what the individual roles involved. That said, it was an interesting insight into the workings of the monarchy and made me dislike Harry and Meghan even more. We’re well rid of them.
February 11, 2023
A good read. 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.
4/5 stars
4/5 stars
October 9, 2022
Not as good as I expected - excerpts online got me intrigued so I pre ordered this one…to be honest I found it a bit boring,
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews