Interesting because I'm interested in that subject
How useful was it?
Pretty useful
Would you read it again?
Probably not
Value for money
Good
Advantages:
An Interesting Insight into the Life of the Royals and the People Behind them .
Disadvantages:
Maybe too Detailed in Places .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Following his recent appearance in 'I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!' I decided to read up on the man Paul Burrell through his autobiography 'A Royal Duty', not knowing too much about his life or his involvement in the Royal Family in particular Diana, Princess of Wales.
‘You are the captain of my ship – I am safe with you at the helm’ – Diana, Princess of Wales to Paul Burrell.
‘No one has been closer to my family than you have’ – Her Majesty the Queen to Paul Burrell.
In reading these quotes on the back cover of the book I was considering whether it was worth reading this book as it sounded as though it would be very egotistical and full of praise for himself and the duties he has performed for the Royal Family. Then I remembered his portrayal on 'I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here', where he did seem like a very self-applauding man at all, possibly the opposite.
The book follows Paul’s life from when he was growing up in Derbyshire and beginning his servant life at Buckingham Palace to the recent court case in which her Majesty the Queen historically intervened. Although the main proportion of the 400 pages in the book describe his fond memories of life as a butler and ‘best friend’ to Princess Diana. It is a very interesting insight into the lives of Royal servants and Paul’s tale in particular is very intriguing, he must have had one of the most exciting and at the same time bewildering experiences as a servant to firstly the Queen, then the Prince and Princess of Wales and later, after the most famous divorce ever, solely the Princess of Wales.
I love gossip and finding out about who and what is going where and why in the Royal Family was probably the most exciting part of the book for me. There is a number of things that you would not expect Royals to be doing and there are probably more things you would expect them to be doing, like Prince William as a child driving a replica Aston Martin. The information to detail was quite surprising throughout reading the book and you can see a strict written form, as you would expect of any butler.
Paul Burrell has received a lot of bad press from all corners of the media, especially in his relationship with Diana, many do not believe his claims of being very close like a best friend to her. From reading the book, obviously one-sided, I get the sense that they probably were fairly close; maybe not as much as he claims but reading how he basically gave up his own life and family to be an efficient servant shows that it was not just a job but also a way of life for him.
Is this book worth buying? Only if you have an interest in Paul Burrell or the Royal Family in particular Princess Diana, otherwise it’s probably not worth a read. Also if you heard there are lots of secrets coming out that only the butler heard you won’t be satisfied because he keeps all the secrets, secret.
If you have a keen interest in the man’s life or you read a lot of autobiographies this may be worth a buy otherwise one to pass on.
The price is not a lot at just over £10 for a hardcover and about £2 for a paperback version and probably a lot cheaper second hand. So if you are only slightly interested it’s probably value for money.
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