A Royal Duty

Rating:
Summary: A Royal Duty becomes "A Reader's Pleasure"
Review: By chance this book landed in my hands. I ,too was an admirer of Lady Di the humanitarian but felt as if I had heard enough stories in print already;I had disdain for opportunists at this point. However, this story is truly a breath of fresh air- fascinating even before Diana enters the picture, the reader is afforded an intimate birds-eye view of the machinations of Royal service "downstairs" at "BP".The protocal of the monarchy was enlightening to this yank.
This is Paul Burrell's story : A regular middle class kid ends up in service to the Queen of England, later serving HRH the Prince of Wales and his wife and children, then finally working soley for Lady Di at "KP"- the evolution is slow and carefully outlined in the book, but eventually his station: personal confidante, companion, wardrobe manager, butler, and "family" to Lady Di ,is unique. What I observe throughout the book is that the author is able to share keen insight into the personalities involved, while remaing discrete and respectful of the monarchy.This is not a sordid tell-all, although I am challenged to find another story that so completely describes the blazing compassion and complicated nature of Diana, from such an intimate stance.
I was enlightened in many ways by the revelations that Diana felt very warmly towards her Royal in-laws, and the Al-Fayed "romance" was not what the tabloids decreed. Finally the book ends not with Diana's death, but the fall-out scenarios of the settling of her estate.Paul is caught in a cross-fire of bitter relations; vultures driven not by greed, but by envy , fed by class bigotry.A criminal prosecution is pursued by those who feel that Paul got too big for his servant- class britches, and he came away with too much - tokens and letters and clothes and trinkets from Diana while she was living. What they really envied was that he had a bigger piece of her affection than they were ever privy too.
With a few exceptions, most readers feel as I do, this is a story of love , and it feels like the candid truth, not self -serving, but still in service to the "Queen of Hearts"-I congratulate Paul Burrell on his decision to write this story, it took courage and mettle.

Rating:
Summary: We should all have such devoted friends
Review: Diana's regard for her butler was well known before her death and her trust evident in the fact that she remembered him in her will. Burrell's credibility is evidenced by the fact that he waited so long to tell his story and does so with obvious reluctance. He was trusted with so many intimate details - correspondence, her treasured "box", the very clothes she wore when she died. He could have made a fortune with this story at any time and chose not to. Diana was fortunate to have had such a close confidante. May she rest in peace

Rating:
Summary: It Is About the Author not Just the Princess
Review: I did not know what to expect from his book. I thought it would have more insights into the late Princess but it is mainly a biography covering the author's time working for the Royals and then his subsequent trial. But overall I was very pleased with the read. It is a bit of an emotional roller coaster and really a very compelling page turner that rates 4 or 5 stars. I rated the book 4 stars since the cover shows a picture of the Princess but she is not the main character; the book covers the Queen, Prince Charles, Lady Di, then his trial after her death.

In any case this is simply a very good book, well written, engrossing, a page-turner, that takes the reader through many emotional highs and lows. I thought it might be a bit of a mindless read, but it is anything but that. In fact, it might be one of the best looks ever written on the inner workings of the Royals. It is a 450 page ride, and you cannot stop reading until the book is done.

The author was born in 1958 and after his firsts brief job at a hotel he worked for the Royal family for twenty one years, first for the Queen and later for Charles and Di. Without footnotes, or a bibliography or even an index, but with the help of three excellent sets of color photographs, the author Paul leads us through his life story and his years with the Royal Family especially those years with Lady Diana. The book briefly covers his childhood and his parents, his first brief job, then the twenty one years of service to the Royal Family.

He starts off working at Buckingham Palace and after a year or so he is promoted to being a footman for the Queen, a job that lasts for 10 years. Then he moves to Highgrove in Gloucestershire 110 miles from London in the country to essentially run or help run the house for Prince Charles and Lady Diana. That job continues until the separation in 1993 of Charles and Di when the author moves to Kensington Palace (KP) in London to work just for Lady Diana. Unlike his work for the Queen and prince Charles, he becomes a close confidant and advisor to Lady Diana and one of her primary emotional supports. He manages her household and is present 15 hours a day to advise and act as a sounding board for the Princess or in her words: " captain of my ship". Later he accompanies her on various trips to Africa, etc. He continues at KP until her death in 1997.

In 1999 he was charged with having stolen items taken from Princess Diana and the book chronicles the subsequent events leading to the trial at the Old Bailey in London and the sudden and unexpected intervention of the Queen in that trial to set him free. It turns out that he had told the Queen about receiving the items previously, and they were not stolen. What an emotional trip! The book leaves one exhausted and emotionally drained.

A fine book and a surprisingly great read.

Jack in Toronto