Courtiers, by Valentine Low (2022)
This book is an inside look at functioning of the British royal family. The advisors to the Queen, and other working royals carry immense power and influence. The courtiers are those whom Diana referred to as the “men in grey suits”. They are around the royal family at official events and are, in many respects, the power behind the throne.
The author takes the reader through the private secretaries, personal secretaries, assistants and deputy secretaries from before Elizabeth II’s rule through Harry and Meghan. Many courtiers held their positions for years before either retiring or moving on. They are the trusted advisors of the monarch’s inner circle. When the Queen was alive, Charles had his own courtiers and Kensington Palace (William and Harry) had their entourage. The author describes the conflicts of having three separate households, each with its own agenda and people.
The book focused on the current royal family and was written shortly before the Queen died. The book discussed the challenges the courtiers faced negotiated through the scandal of Prince Andrew and the explosive Megxit. The author spent a great deal of ink on Harry and Meghan. They didn’t come out well. While the book recognized that Meghan, as an American, had difficulty adjusting to royal life, it also acknowledge that she was difficult to work with and many underlings in the household left their employment rather than stay working for the Firm.
I found the book mildly interesting, but not fabulously so.
Read: May 18, 2023
3 Stars
Wow! Just Wow! In this book about the British Royal family, no one comes off smelling like a rose. The book focuses mainly on the last 40 or so years of the Firm, touching on the marriage and life of Charles and Diana before concentrating on the more recent royal relationships and marriages.
Unless you are THE Monarch, the lives of all others royals is to support, but not outshine, the Monarch. That was Diana’s downfall – her overwhelming popularity. Brown dissects the tawdry and sorted affair of Charles and Camilla before, during and after Charles’ first marriage. Camilla is seen as shrewd and calculating as she repaired her reputation to elevate her status to now Queen consort. Her friends were in on the game as well. (The book was published shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth.)
None of the senior royals escape Brown’s lens. Nor do Prince Harry and Meghan escape unscathed. The royals are seen as rude, ruthless, calculating, cold, and, in some cases, just stupid. Many in the family are quite clueless about how the other 99.9% of the population lives. Many family members come across as extremely spoiled and pampered. We knew that didn’t we? Just not to the extent that they think their privilege extends.
Brown notes that the media, which Harry has so often complained about, does, indeed, get leaks from various members of the family. Thus, the family and the press have a rather cruel symbiotic relationship. It is the double-edged sword that Firm uses to its advantage at times and despairs at others.
The rich are truly different.
