What does the Queen do before going to bed? Is it true that Prince William is seeing a psychiatrist? Who has the privilege of penetrating the Queen’s private chambers? What secret pet names do members of the royal family give to one another? As Great Britain celebrates, with much pomp, the fiftieth jubilee anniversary of Queen Elisabeth II’s reign this coming spring, Bertrand Mayer-Stabley answers all of these essential questions, revealing the Windsor family secrets and their eccentric habits.
Meyer-Stabley, whose La V ie quotidienne à Buckingham de Victoria à Elisabeth II (Daily Life at Buckingham Palace from Victoria to Elisabeth II) was published in 1991, details here the everyday lives of Queen Elisabeth and her family. We learn not only about her public life (meetings with world leaders, stateside visits, and formal dinners), but about her private one as well (secret love affairs, media clashes, and internal disputes). Scattered throughout are portraits of the Queen Mother, Prince Consort, Prince Charles, Camilla-Parker Bowles and young Princes William and Harry. In a long chapter devoted to Princess Diana, the author gives an account of the influence she had upon the British monarchy in breaking with the habits and customs of royal protocol.
This chronicle ends with a practical guide that explains how to write to the Queen, as well as how to be invited to the Palace (or simply, how to book a ticket for a tour). Scattered throughout with humorous anecdotes, spicy disclosures and amusing facts and tips, this book is an invitation to take a ride in the Rolls-Royce of monarchies.