The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the TurmoilNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “addictively readable” (The Washington Post) inside story of the British royal family’s battle to overcome the dramas of the Diana years—only to confront new, twenty-first-century crises “Frothy and forthright, a kind of Keeping Up with the Windsors with sprinkles of Keats.”—The New York Times (Notable Book of the Year) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Elle, Town & Country “Never again” became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Princess Diana’s tragic death. More specifically, there could never be “another Diana”—a member of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone, and posed an existential threat to the British monarchy. Picking up where Tina Brown’s masterful The Diana Chronicles left off, The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet. Brown takes readers on a tour de force journey through the scandals, love affairs, power plays, and betrayals that have buffeted the monarchy over the last twenty-five years. We see the Queen’s stoic resolve after the passing of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother, and Prince Philip, her partner for seven decades, and how she triumphs in her Jubilee years even as family troubles rage around her. Brown explores Prince Charles’s determination to make Camilla Parker Bowles his wife, the tension between William and Harry on “different paths,” the ascendance of Kate Middleton, the downfall of Prince Andrew, and Harry and Meghan’s stunning decision to step back as senior royals. Despite the fragile monarchy’s best efforts, “never again” seems fast approaching. Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family. |
Contents
Cover | |
Title Page Copyright | |
Photo Insert | |
Acknowledgments | |
Kryptonite Part One 1 Never Again The Royals Confront a PostDiana World | |
Why Charles Loves Camilla | |
How Camilla Hung | |
The Queens TwentyfirstCentury Headaches | |
Kate Closes the Deal | |
Harry the Hero Finds His | |
How the Press Stalked the Royals | |
The Windsors Winning Streak | |
Andrews Money | |
The Lure of Jeffrey Epstein | |
Meghan Markles World | |
Harry Confronts His Demons | |
How Elizabeth and Philip Made It Work | |
Margaret and the Queen Mother Leave the Party | |
The Queens Encore | |
What the Butler | |
A New Duchess in the Winners Enclosure | |
Williams and Harrys Competing Realities | |
How the Princes Survived Their Childhood | |
William Meets an Extraordinary Ordinary Girl | |
The Stars Align for Harry and Meghan | |
A Wedding Transforms the House of Windsor | |
The Monarchys Morning After | |
Surviving the Windsor Fishbowl | |
Annus Horribilis Redux | |
Photograph Credits | |
By Tina Brown | |
Other editions - View all
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil Tina Brown No preview available - 2022 |
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil Tina Brown No preview available - 2022 |
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil Tina Brown No preview available - 2022 |
Common terms and phrases
Andrew Parker Bowles April Balmoral birthday Bolland boys Brandreth British brother Buckingham Palace Burrell called celebrity chap Charles and Camilla Charles’s Chelsy Clarence House Daily Mail daughter Diana dinner Duchess of Sussex Duke Elizabeth Epstein father felt Fergie former friends Ghislaine girls GO TO NOTE Guardian Harry and Meghan Harry’s Harverson Highgrove Ibid interview Jubilee June Junor Kate Middleton Kate’s Lady London looked Mail on Sunday Majesty March marriage married Meghan Markle Michael monarchy never NOTE REFERENCE November Oprah Parker Bowles party photographer prime minister Prince Andrew Prince Charles Prince Harry Prince of Wales Prince Philip Prince William Prince’s Princess Margaret Princess of Wales private secretary Queen Mother Rebel Prince REFERENCE IN TEXT Royal Family Sandringham sister story tabloid TEXT CHAPTER There’s told Vanity Fair wanted wedding William and Harry William and Kate Windsor Castle woman York young