The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana

Burrell, who served as a footman to Queen Elizabeth II and a butler to the future King Charles III from the mid-1970s to 1997, follows A Royal Duty with another gossipy peek behind the curtain. In a departure from A Royal Duty’s focus on Burrell’s relationship with Princess Diana, the scope here is wide, contrasting the author’s impoverished upbringing as the son of a coal miner with the luxuries of his eventual employment at Buckingham Palace. Burrell spends most of the narrative detailing the ups and downs of that tenure, recalling the cruel pranks played on him by veteran servants and his experiences as a gay man—both in and out of the closet—who brushed shoulders with some of the most powerful figures in Britain. The account works best as a nuanced love letter to Queen Elizabeth, whom Burrell seems to sincerely love. It’s less effective when Burrell weighs in on recent royal family matters, like the tensions between King Charles and Prince Harry, which he admits he hasn’t witnessed firsthand, though he claims he “never lost contact” with key sources. Not much is revelatory, but for dedicated royal watchers, it’s good fun. Agent: Tom Gribby, Host Talent Group. (Jan.)