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Valentine Low’s highly anticipated book, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of the royals, has garnered significant attention, including revelations about Queen Camilla’s experience fending off a sexual assault as a teenager.
“Power and the Palace,” slated for release next week and authored by the former royal correspondent for The Times, delves into the intricate dynamic between the royal family and the political sphere.
From after-dinner drinks on the royal train to discussions surrounding the Coronation budget, here are some of the notable anecdotes featured in the book:
Low’s book recounts an incident in which Queen Camilla, as a teenager in the 1960s, successfully defended herself against a sexual assault on a train to London, leading to the perpetrator’s arrest.
The author notes that the Queen shared her experience with Boris Johnson in 2008 during his tenure as Mayor of London. Guto Harri, Johnson’s former communications director, provided Low with details of that conversation.
“I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel,” Camilla reportedly told Johnson.
According to the account, Camilla “was self-possessed enough when they arrived at Paddington to jump off the train, find a guy in uniform and say ‘That man just attacked me,’ and he was arrested.”
Buckingham Palace maintains a policy of refraining from commenting on claims made in books.
However, a source close to the Queen offered this perspective: “If some good comes of this publication, which is that the wider issues are discussed, it de-stigmatizes the whole topic and empowers girls today to take action and seek help and to talk about it, then that’s a good outcome.”
The story aligns with Queen Camilla’s vocal advocacy against domestic abuse and violence against women.
She has visited women’s shelters, challenged stigmas surrounding domestic abuse, and, at an International Women’s Day reception, displayed stones thrown by suffragettes at Buckingham Palace windows in 1914.
Michael Gove, during his time as environment secretary in 2018, reportedly received an invitation for a late-night drink with the then Prince of Wales aboard the royal train – a tradition dating back to Queen Victoria’s reign.
The drink of choice was Laphroaig whisky – a smoky, peaty Scottish malt reminiscent of a contemplative walk through the Highlands.
Gove, accompanying the prince on a trip, was cautioned not to anticipate a substantial breakfast the following morning, as Charles reportedly prefers a “tiny little vase of fruit and then some pressed fruit juice concoction, sort of beetroot and ginger or whatever.”
Boris Johnson arrived late for a meeting with the then Prince Charles in 2008 after traveling in the wrong direction on the London Underground. He ensured punctuality for their subsequent meeting by cycling.
While Camilla found this amusing, Charles and Johnson were said to have maintained a somewhat strained relationship, including disagreements over the government’s later plan to process asylum applications in Rwanda.
The late Queen, while careful to avoid overt political interventions, reportedly held reservations about the disruption caused by Brexit.
The author cites royal insiders and an unnamed senior minister, who stated that the Queen, although occasionally frustrated by aspects of the European Union’s bureaucracy, ultimately favored remaining within the bloc.
According to sources within the book, the Queen viewed the EU as an integral part of the post-war order that she supported.
The book also sheds light on the late Queen’s relationships with various politicians. She reportedly enjoyed positive rapport with Harold Wilson and John Major but experienced a more strained dynamic with Margaret Thatcher.
Queen Elizabeth personally contacted Tony Blair to congratulate him upon the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998. “I thought, I bet she doesn’t do this often,” Blair is quoted as saying.
Other unexpected interventions included her raising concerns with ministers that defense cuts should not jeopardize the Army’s School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming.
“Does he always do that thing with you?” This was reportedly a question Charles posed to then Prime Minister Tony Blair regarding Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The author suggests that Prescott was “in a class of his own when it came to discomfiting Charles.”
Charles is quoted as explaining: “When he’s sitting opposite you, he slides down the seat with his legs apart, his crotch pointing a little menacingly, and balances his teacup and saucer on his tummy. It’s very odd.”
“Was it,” Charles inquired, a “sign of hostility or class enmity?” Blair responded, “He just likes drinking his tea that way,” Low writes.
It was the government, rather than the Palace, that advocated for a well-funded and impressive spectacle for the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
While the Palace expressed caution regarding excessive displays of extravagance amid economic hardship, the government issued “very clear guidance” that the ceremony should not be scaled back and that a “maximalist” approach should be adopted.
Ultimately, the Coronation cost £72m, including £22m allocated for policing.
The book reveals negotiations surrounding public funding for the royals during the introduction of the Sovereign Grant in 2012, portraying the Palace as more astute with finances than their counterparts in Westminster.
When concerns arose that linking the grant to Crown Estate profits might prove overly generous and inflate the annual grant’s value, Low states that the Palace “played hardball” and adhered to the original agreement.
As the BBC reported earlier this year, a significant increase did occur over time, with public funding tripling in real terms to finance repairs to Buckingham Palace.
Power and the Palace, by Valentine Low. Headline Press. Published 11 September.
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