A Royal Duty

fascinating for pulling back the curtain on entering service for the royals and an insisted view to the dysfunctional marriage of Di and Charles. The title suggests butler Burrell's don't defense in the case against him: he didn't steal he "kept for safekeeping" key items, something supported solely in posthumous communications and after his demonization started. seems like he could be painting himself as victim when possibly something was amiss. He rushes over the legal case in a quick conclusion to what is a butler's autobiography. it seems easy to read between the lines that the cash was dropped out of embarrassment and the fact Lady Di's mother done worse in shredding documents. Burrell so praises and worships Diana that it is hard show more not to think "the Lady's butler doth protest too much".

on Di herself, I think what is most revealing here is how soon and completely her marriage failed, isolating her, and how deeply she turned to New Age mysticism. show less

Interesting if gossipy.
Not sure why the bulter and author feigns surprise at the response of Diana's sons. He is very disingenuous in pretending anyone put them up to asking him to not publish. How devastating for them. At the same time, they pay their employees appalling little for basically round the clock labor. Not sure why 'the firm' thinks it's such an honor to pick up their stanky drawls. Loyalty is best expected on a competitive salary🤷‍♀️

I thought this was an amazing book and must definately get myself a copy sometime!! I loved it! It was really cool to learn about how the etiqutte works in Buckingham Palace and all the little personal facts about the Queen, her mother, and Diana. And it was very hard not to cry when reading about her death. I remember the day I heard about her death, what I was doing and everything even though I was like 13 at the time! He did seem a bit obsessive though...it was a wonder his wife didn't accuse him of an affair! But Burrell does make butlers seem cool! He was obviously very dedicated to what he did,but he just seemed obsessed.

This was a little more interesting that I thought it would be. Still pretty much one guy's attempt to counter his bad press. It did include some interesting inside info on the interworkings of the British royal family and their households.

I read this book after years of not wanting to. I put it off because I didn't know how truthful it would be. My timing of reading it and the Royal wedding was bittersweet, as it made me sad that Diana wasn't there to see William get married.
However, I did enjoy the book very much. I think Burrell was candid and truthful in many ways. I liked the background information of his life before starting his career with the Queen. I didn't know he worked for the Queen, or that his wife worked for the Duke of Edinburgh before they moved to the Prince and Princess of Wales' staff.
I found his stories of the time with the Queen extremely interesting, especially her feeding the corgis herself.
Overall, I felt very sorry for Burrell and his utter show more devotion for Diana, the Princess of Wales, which left a large gap in his life when she died, that even his wife and sons didn't seem to fill. I wasn't surprised to hear that he has since divorced his wife. That is rather tragic.
I think he was lost after the princess’s death and the subsequent court case shattered him and his world, which is understandable.

If you like learning about royal life behind closed doors, then this is a good book to read. show less

He was one of the last servants attending Diana. However, before working for the Princess he worked directly for the Queen. The earlier section devoted to Her Majesty are the most interesting, revealing little tidbits of personal observation. One of the most amusing is her wearing the crown she would wear for a state occasion in a dressing gown, performing routine paperwork, getting used to its weight.

This book proves my thoughts that Diana was a very down to earth, generous and often lonely person. I look forward to the time that William is king, as I believe Diana taught him through her actions how to be humble, giving and champion of the downtrodden. If you are intersted in the Royal Family parts of this book are revealing.