At Home with the Queen: Life Through the Keyhole of the Royal Household - Softcover

Hoey, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007126190 ISBN 13: 9780007126194

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

Behind the scenes of the private world at the heart of royalty, as revealed by a distinguished royal commentator. This is the real story of what goes on inside the royal palaces, as witnessed by members of the royal staff and household past and present. Buckingham Palace is effectively an independent kingdom with its own rules and customs, now explained by Brian Hoey. Hundreds of anecdotes reveal the conditions in which the staff live and work and also their relationship with the Royals they serve. How does one get a job as personal footman to the Queen? Why does Prince Charles still have to send a note to her Page of the Backstairs requesting a meeting with his mother? How much do members of the household earn? Why does the Queen hate men in three-piece suits? Why are the Queen's bedsheets six inches longer than Prince Philip's? Why do her maids have to vacuum walking backwards? Why doesn't the Queen allow square ice-cubes to be put in her drinks?

About this title

From the Back Cover:

One of our best-informed royal chroniclers goes behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace to tell the real story of what goes on inside the royal residences through the eyes and words of royal staff past and present.

Hundreds of anecdotes reveal the conditions in which the staff live and work and also their relationship with the Royals they serve. How does one get a job as personal footman to the Queen? Why does Prince Charles still have to send a written note to her Page of the Backstairs requesting a meeting with his mother? Which members of the royal family are best to work for? How does the Queen dispose of her old dresses? How much does every member of the Royal Household earn? How much ‘moonlighting’ goes on at the Palace? What are the duties of a royal valet? Why does the Queen hate men in three-piece suits, and still employ a Fender Mender?

Buckingham Palace remains an independent kingdom with its own rules and customs. Brian Hoey investigates the hierarchy in the Royal Household: the Master of the Household decides who gets the best rooms to stay in at the Palace; the Lord Chamberlain issues invitations to Garden Parties; the Keeper of the Privy Purse allocates seats in the royal box at the Albert Hall.

‘Palace politics’ have never been so intimately revealed as in this searching account of the private world at the heart of royalty.

Synopsis:

This is the real story of what goes on inside the royal palaces, as witnessed by members of the royal staff and household past and present. Buckingham Palace is effectively an independent kingdom with its own rules and customs, now explained by Brian Hoey. Hundreds of anecdotes reveal the conditions in which the staff live and work and also their relationship with the Royals they serve. It looks at a varity of issues including: How does one get a job as personal footman to the Queen? Why does Prince Charles still have to send a note to her Page of the Backstairs requesting a meeting with his mother? How much do members of the household earn? Why does the Queen hate men in three-piece suits? Why are the Queen's bedsheets six inches longer than Prince Philip's? Why do her maids have to vacuum walking backwards? Why doesn't the Queen allow square ice-cubes to be put in her drinks?

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0007126190
• ISBN 13: 9780007126194
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348