What really
makes the royal family tick?



It’s a
question that royal watchers have pondered for as long as the monarchy has
existed. And who better to ask than the army of servants and staff past and
present who feed and clothe the royals, organise their days, polish their
shoes, carry the deer and pheasants they shoot and even put the toothpaste on
their toothbrushes?



From medieval
times, when the Groom of the Stool oversaw the monarch’s lavatorial exploits,
and courtiers accompanied the king and queen to bed on their wedding night and
made bawdy remarks until ushered out of the room, below-stairs staff have had a
unique insight into the lives of their royal masters.



In this
lively and colourful history, royal expert Tom Quinn goes behind palace doors
to give a compelling glimpse of Britain’s royals, ancient and modern. Here you
will find the tales of the equerry who threatened to throw Queen Victoria out
of her own stables, the junior footman who had to change his name on the orders
of the queen, and the lady in waiting who, with Prince Philip’s mother Princess
Alice, regularly set fire to her rooms at Buckingham Palace.



Perhaps most
intriguing of all, we see, through the eyes of serving and recently retired
staff, how today’s royals live – including how the relationship between Meghan
and Harry and William and Kate started with high hopes and descended into
bitterness and anger.