Royal Secrets: The View from Downstairs

by Stephen P. Barry

A backstairs account of the British royal family by Prince Charles's former valet

Genres: Nonfiction, Royalty, Memoir

233 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1985

Reviews

[Rachelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book made me wonder why the British still pay these people to act horribly and do basically nothing. Also, I find it amusing that Princess Diana, according to the author would slowly fade into the background of the Monarchy because she didn't have "staying power" like Princess Anne. Also, how Diana was mean because she didn't want Charles seeing his old friend Camilla Parker Bowles anymore. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Staff point of view book about how things were at one point in time...a long while ago. I liked it because all of the favourite and most interesting royal personages were still alive...You can't beat stories about The Queen Mother and her colourful staff at Clarence House. Then of course there was Princess Margaret who get's the critical treatment. Very few people actually knew the late Princess well. She didn't get to marry the first man she allegedly loved, played second fiddle to her sister The Queen, was a party girl and constantly got involved with gay men could be an indication the Princess deserved the title Tragic. The fact she didn't like dogs is perhaps a good indication the scathing things said about her in the book could be true. I think if you are even remotely interested in England's Royal Family you will find this book fascinating. We all like to look behind the curtain and into rooms we would ordinarily never be allowed to visit..."Royal Service The View From Downstairs" opens the curtain a tiny crack and delivers in spades.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While some things felt repetitive from his first book and within this book, there were some new tidbits about the royals I never read about.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shout out to the Vintage Read YouTube channel which I have a love hate relationship with. I adore her and her commentary but I hate that she reviews and recaps books so well that I have to go out and buy them to read for myself and I'm trying not to spend as much money and welli also have no will power and live in a town with a library that doesn't carry most of the titles and authors I want to read. But I digress. The second of two books written by Prince (now king) Charles' valet. This one I think is a bit more gossipy if I remember the reviews I watched of both but I'll see when I get around to reading Royal Service. It starts off slow with what is basically a detailed organizational chart of the royal servants what they do who they report too. Once we get past that into the stories it's an enjoyable read. Amazing at what goes on behind the scenes at the palace. Andrew was always an arrogant obnoxious prick, Edward a quiet decent soul, Charles tries to be good but is often a frustrating character. From the sound of it no one liked Diana very much. I think they were just a horrible match and even if they had tried to make it work and both been of better temperament they would've ended up with an open marriage. The book takes us up to just after Harry was born so we don't get any insights into him possibly being the whiny jealous baby he grew up to be. William appears to be a typical three year old into trouble and mischief. Reading this I see that Harry got the bad side of both parents and the palace PR hid it well. William had he not married Catherine and had the stability of the Middleton family might've been thar way too. He might be awful behind the scenes too who knows? Anyway there are amusing tidbits sprinkled throughout like the female brigadier who had a unfortunate wardrobe malfunction at a banquet, Prince Phillip having appalling table manners, the queen being a wonderful lady who'sgair to her staff, Princess Margaret being a terrible lady spoiled and demanding, must be a "spare" thing, the foot man who carried a lamb chop in his pocket so the corgis would love him and thus win him favour with the queen. I would be interested in reading an update from someone currently working at the palace. From the cut backs they made in the 90s, to all the scandals in the 90s and now, and even to see how things changed between the two reigns but instead we get trashy books that either dump all over the king, his consort, William and Catherine, or gushes over them and we don't have the insight that only comes from being there and speaking honestly and not through a biased lense. But it was interesting to look back and amusing to see what Stephen Barry thought the future held for the monarchy and see how much if anything he got right. Well worth the read.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Brits love their monarchy. When I read about such royal entitlement at the expense of their "subjects" it's, well.... it's kinda sickening. But, I'm not British so it doesn't matter and I enjoy watching all their overindulgence (again, at the expense of those that are willing to pay such high taxes to support this cra-cra)
I read this book many years after the death of Princess Diana and the book was written at a time that the pretense of their marital relationship being a good relationship. I did notice Charles bought their home near Camilla in this book.
The royal entitlement is still befuddling to me. I mean...look at the "royal" wedding for Harry and Meghan. He's sixth in line and they cost to their subjects. The book did say they were tight with their own money and always saying things are too expensive for the homes "they" own; but not so much with the homes owned by Britain.
The abuse of some things is beyond mind boggling to me but that is just a way of life for the Brits.
The book also talks about how these kids are raised to BE royal. It's ingrained in them from birth.
It's interesting to see that people actually live like this and think like this.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Royal Secrets", by Stephen Barry, was a follow-up book to his first book about the British royal family, "Royal Service". The first book dealt with the 12 or so years he was Prince Charles' valet. Apparently he was a casualty of Princess Diana's purge of the household servants after she married the Prince. The first book was really quite tactful about what he told, but it apparently still irritated the Palace officials.

This book was written a couple of years later, in 1984, and the author had been out of royal service for several years by then. It ends not long after the birth of Prince Harry in 1984. Stephen Barry died a few years after the book came out, so one must assume he really needed the income. This second book on which I am reporting today was much less discreet (although certainly not a Kitty Kelley-type expose') than the first book and answered many questions about all the members of the Royal Family that he had been asked over the years. In any case, it is clear that Barry retained his respect and affection for Prince Charles, but apparently other members of the family were not so easy to deal with. I'm one of those people who likes to read about the royal family, and now that my daughter lives in the UK, I find it even more interesting. On that basis, I recommend the book.

**#59 of 100 books pledged to read/review in 2015**

[Fran Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the many private moments in the British Royal family, written by Stephan Barry, who was Prince Charles valet for twelve years. He talks about the Royals, their habits, how they decorate their homes, raise their children, what gifts they give, what they eat, what china they eat off, and how they drive. It's candid, amusing, and minces no words about problem Royals.

[Betsy L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Even though it’s an older book it was an interesting look into the 1980’s Royal Family.

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and there wasn't any really negative secrets but plenty of funny times that the author shared from during his time working for the royals. A few items really surprised me about the time spent with them. Unfortunately the author died shortly after this was written, he had some very positive wit.

[Karena · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. A little repetitive in some chapters.

[Lisa De Wilde-Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

K

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful anecdotes from a gracious and hard-working valet. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about a life so different from mine.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll be brief and say I'm glad I only paid a few cents for this book. It is not worthy of a review. It was a supreme waste of time. The Secret? The secret is, in my opinion, it should not have been published.