Backstairs Billy

by Tom Quinn

  But perhaps Billy, more than anyone, should have heeded the advice given to him by the Queen Mother herself. She understood the complexities of life at court perhaps better than anyone and almost at the beginning of their relationship she had said:

  ‘Whatever you do, William, never trust anyone. Ever.’

  Acknowledgements

  THANKS TO EVERYONE who helped with the research for this book, but especially to Basia Briggs; and to Katy Quinn-Guest who took time off from a punishing schedule to read through an early draft and suggested numerous improvements. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Victoria Godden, my editor at the Robson Press, for patiently unravelling countless obscurities, and to Charlotte Wadham for high days and holidays.

  Copyright

  First published in Great Britain in 2015 by

  The Robson Press (an imprint of Biteback Publishing Ltd)

  Westminster Tower

  3 Albert Embankment

  London SE1 7SP

  Copyright © Tom Quinn 2015

  Tom Quinn has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and

  Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the publisher’s prior permission in writing.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them.

  ISBN 978–1–84954–893–9

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Set in Adobe Caslon Pro

  The Windsors are England’s most famous family, but what are they really like when they’re out of the public gaze?

  Behind closed doors in every royal residence, from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House, there are two families – one upstairs and one down – and nobody knows a royal quite like a royal servant, intimately acquainted as they are with every quirk, foible and eccentricity.

  This is the inside story of the royal family through the eyes of those who know them best, a sneak peek behind the ermine-trimmed curtains to reveal what they really get up to in their spare time. Are they just like us? Or are they are a world apart? Here are the answers to everything we’ve ever wondered about the royals: which programmes does the Queen watch on TV? What is it like to attend a dinner party thrown by Charles and Camilla? Who are the most popular (and most unpopular!) royals to work for and why?

  Not in Front of the Corgis is the real Upstairs Downstairs – a unique and fascinating collection of all the secrets you ever wanted to know about the royal family.

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