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Nobody comes out of this well, with the possible exception of the Middleton family and Kate herself. Prince Charles “just wasn’t the kind of person the Queen admired”, according to Brown. Like all biographers Brown is apparently obliged to say how wonderful the Queen is, but this is tempered with some sharp comments about her lack of parenting and her emotional coldness. Brown finds out a lot about Meghan’s background, and at times imagines herself into her head (Photo: Ed Miles)
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Typical was the treatment of Princess Margaret’s long-time chauffeur David Griffin – working ridiculous hours for years, and then made redundant and told to leave his accommodation when she died. They spend huge amounts of unearned money, but are stingy and thoughtless with others. They expect loyalty and commitment from staff, and give little in return. This isn’t a flat-out hatchet job – Brown, with her acclaimed 2007 Diana biography already under her belt, is clearly as fascinated by the royals as she is determined to hold them up to the light – but this set of pesky royals comes over badly. She presents, very fairly, the doings of the current major Royals and the past lives of the major incomers: Camilla Parker Bowles, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. The long-awaited book from the celebrated editor – Brown was formerly at the helm of the likes of Tatler, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair – covers the period from Princess Diana’s death till now, including the deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, the marriages of the old Prince and the young princes, Megxit, and the Prince Andrew disaster.
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The utter brilliance of Tina Brown’s The Palace Papersis that it makes you at the same time think the Royals have unimaginable extraordinary lives – and that they are a family just like any other, with this sister-in-law, that mother, and a fight over a social event.