A Daily Mail Book of the Year and a The Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2021

'Monumental.. Authoritative and highly readable.' Ben Macintyre, The Times

'A fascinating history of royal espionage.' Sunday Times

'Excellent... Compelling' Guardian


For the first time, Spying and the Crown uncovers the remarkable relationship between the Royal Family and the intelligence community, from the reign of Queen Victoria to the death of Princess Diana.

In an enthralling narrative, Richard J. Aldrich and Rory Cormac show how the British secret services grew out of persistent attempts to assassinate Victoria and then operated on a private and informal basis, drawing on close personal relationships between senior spies, the aristocracy, and the monarchy.

Based on original research and new evidence, Spying and the Crown presents the British monarchy in an entirely new light and reveals how far their majesties still call the shots in a hidden world.

Previously published as The Secret Royals.