Valentine Low – författare

The gripping account of how the Royal family operates, from the journalist who has spent years studying them. Who really runs the show and, as Charles III begins his reign, what will happen next?Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers—the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle—to ensure its survival as a family and a pillar of the country. Today, a carefully selected team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Now, a newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital. Yet, as the tensions within the family are exposed to global scrutiny like never before, the task these courtiers face has never been more challenging. With a dark cloud hanging over Prince Andrew and Harry and Meghan's controversial departure, William and Kate—equipped with a 21st century approach to public relations—now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant. In fascinating and explosive detail, Valentine Low explores the previously unknown relationship between modern courtiers and the royal family.Courtiers pulls back the veil to reveal an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting alliances, and battles of ideas over the future of the institution. This is the inside story of how the monarchy really works at a pivotal moment in its history.

''Lively . . . peppered with entertaining lines. One of [Low''s] skills as a journalist is an ability to sift through mountains of archive material and pick out the gems'' - Telegraph

Covering 200 years of royal history from Queen Victoria to King Charles, and looking forward to the future reign of King William, Power and the Palace is the gossip-laden and highly revelatory account of the relationship between the sovereign and the prime minister - the real story behind The Crown.

Power and the Palace lifts the lid on the mysterious power nexus at the heart of the British state: the secretive and little understood relationship between the monarchy and the government. In vivid, page-turning prose, Valentine Low takes us behind the scenes of the weekly audience to uncover the ever-changing dynamic between sovereign and prime minister - from the romance and flattery that bound Victoria and Benjamin Disraeli, to the personal and political gulf that separated Elizabeth II from Margaret Thatcher.

He reveals how the monarchy has gradually ceded political power over the past two hundred years while behind closed doors fighting to keep its finances secure - ensuring the long-term survival of the institution. But it has not all been smooth sailing, and the book includes moments of dramatic tension when the relationship threatened to unravel.

Based on nearly 100 interviews with senior politicians, top civil servants, royal aides and constitutional experts, Power and the Palace rewrites our understanding of the political power of the monarchy.

FEATURING A BRAND NEW CHAPTER ON KING CHARLES III AND HIS CORONATION

''Fascinating'' The Times''Tantalising'' Telegraph

The gripping account of how the royal family really operates. Valentine Low, royal correspondent for The Times, asks the important questions: who really runs the show and, with Charles now crowned as King, what will happen next?

Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family''s path between public duty and private life. The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging.

With the departure of both Harry and Meghan and the disgraced Prince Andrew from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. William and Kate - equipped with a very twenty-first-century approach to press and public relations - now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant for the decades to come.

Courtiers reveals an ever-changing web of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.