The Palace Diaries
Written by Sarah Goodall and Nicholas Monsoon
**** Introduction****
Written in 2006 and published in 2007, this 318 page hard back book had me gripped in almost every chapter. Hailed as "Racy, outrageous and hilarious - there's never been a Royal book like it. The ... Read review
Sarah Goodall spent 12 years working for Prince Charles as a Lady Clerk from 1988 to 2000. ... more
Inspired by her experiences, this is a hilarious story of a naive and rather accident-prone young woman whose dreams all came true when she was given the opportunity to work for the heir to the throne.
Advantages: A light hearted read yet brief look into Prince Charles bubble/aka the palace Disadvantages: Lack of personal photo's.
The Palace Diaries
Written by Sarah Goodall and Nicholas Monsoon
**** Introduction****
Written in 2006 and published in 2007, this 318 page hard back book had me gripped in almost every chapter. Hailed as "Racy, outrageous and hilarious - there's never been a Royal book like it. The Palace Diaries is a unique insider's view of what really went on during the most tumultuous period for the British monarchy, ... ...on offer at 75% off the retail price and as I was about to embark on a holiday, I decided to buy it for a bit of easy reading.
Sarah was born in 1964 into a very privileged family and was raised in Shropshire. She went onto study chartered surveying at the Royal Agricultural College of which she eventually ran away from as well as her latest love interest. Life as a farmer's wife was not for her.
Written in 2006 and published in 2007, this 318 page hard back book had me gripped in almost every chapter. Hailed as "Racy, outrageous and hilarious - there's never been a Royal book like it. The Palace Diaries is a unique insider's view of what really went on during the most tumultuous period for the British monarchy, since the abdication of Edward VIII. On the cover is Miss Goodall, looking slinky and sassy in a Audrey Hepburn type pose, complete with Corgi. Her adoration and respect for Charles is paramount but I think this mostly comes from her loins, not from her heart.
To be honest, I had never heard of this Miss Goodall. This book came upon be by pure chance whilst browsing through a leading book website. It was on offer at 75% off the retail price and as I was about to embark on a holiday, I decided to buy it for a bit of easy reading.
Sarah was born in 1964 into a very privileged family and was raised in Shropshire. She went onto study chartered surveying at the Royal Agricultural College of which she eventually ran away from as well as her latest love interest. Life as a farmer's wife was not for her.
In May 1988, she was employed as a secretary for an auction house in London, living in a flat share in Fulham. This too became boring for her and was badly paid so it was then she approached a job agency in the city. Her details were forwarded to Kensington Palace for the role of a "Lady Clerk".
*** The Story Behind the Book***
From the beginning of the book it is clear that she has grand affection for the younger male Royals. The flat which she rented overlooked the house of Viscount Linley and she would often peer over to his bedroom window and watch his silhouette against the curtain with his then partner Susannah Constantine, Trinny Woodall's other half in the series What Not to Wear. From her comments it is obvious she wished it was her in that bedroom whilst she was playing at "peeping Tom".
The role of a Lady Clerk in laymen's terms is an administrator come secretary. Prince Charles has quite a large congregation of Lady Clerks in his employment and Sarah was to be given the task of reading his fan mail and dealing with as she deemed appropriate. This position gave her a meagre salary of £162 per week, just £1000 more than her previous role. However it was the title and working for Royalty that made her accept this job, only after she signed the Official Secrets Act.
Sarah started at the bottom of the Lady Clerk ladder and eventually she was given extra duties and moved her way up to the point that she accompanying HRH as she always calls Charles on many trips abroad and social events. Her nervousness at meeting Prince Charles sound diminished over the years and she even felt relaxed enough to fall asleep in his cinema room after her poured her a long alcoholic drink. Charles trusted Sarah in that he would give her the responsibility of looking after not his two children, but his dog whenever she stayed at a Royal residence.
It is clear that Sarah in madly in "lust" of HRH. There are many sentences such as "I gaze into his beautiful blue eyes and have to muster my self control". Oh please, this is Charles, he might be a prince and possibly the future King of England but he is no Robbie Williams look alike. The amount of lovers she writes about in her palace diaries book is quite vast, this is obviously a lady who likes sex and has a strong appetite for it. This naïve and some what immature young woman certainly does lie down and think of England, for her Prince and country no doubt!
When she joined the Palace, Charles was still married albeit unhappily with Princess Diana. Diana hardly acknowledged Sarah as she was employed in Charles's camp and that area was a no go zone for the Princess. The animosity between the pair was already very apparent as Sarah would notice at the staff Christmas parties. For example, Diana would arrive through another door looking absolutely stunning as she always did and only mingling with her direct staff, ignoring Charles's section. Charles hardly acknowledged his wife and she would leave earlier than him, also through a different exit to her husband.
Sarah seems to be definitely a Charles supporter and in her book never has a bad word to say against him, just lots of love and admiration. Even his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles did not deter her loyalty, just her curiosity as to why he could ditch such a beautiful young wife for a married mother of two. I am sure half of the nation still does not understand it to this day. She claims however that Diana was no dutiful spouse and James Hewitt was "not the only stallion in her stable", a comment that makes me laugh whenever I remember it.
Clearly she is no fan of Diana's; even stating that she was mentally unstable and manipulative. She does however, not have a bad word to say against The Duchess of Cornwall, even if you read between the lines that Camilla was said to be jealous of the closeness between Sarah and his lusciousness!
From 1988 until 2000, Sarah Goodall remained in employment with Charles. Obviously she was not in it for the vast salary as the wages were pathetic, she found it impossible to survive on what she earned and so mummy and daddy had to subsidise her and the increasing overdrafts and bank loans. The bank decided enough was enough and refused to lend her any more but fortunately daddy was on hand to help out. Sarah enjoyed the grandeur of working for Royalty and mixing with aristocracy and even though she was incurring huge debts, she just couldn't leave the role as a poorly paid Lady Clerk. She had ideas above her station and in the end her world came crashing down. HRH or his Lovingness showed no support for Sarah at the very end, he could have saved her job but declined and carried on living in his own glass bubble.
As always with the Royals, she was treated coldly for all the years of service and hardly a healthy bank balance to show for it. The poor girl suffered the humiliation of being escorted out of the palace by security as if she was some sort of criminal, not a long standing lady Clerk.
****Conclusion:****
I do not wish to give too much information away and spoil the book for any impending buyers, but if you like gossip with a mere hint of Royal scandal, it really is a good read. Little hints are given towards the end of the book which set the alarm bells ringing in the back of your mind.
One such paragraph was about Prince Harry and the debate about who his father is. Now come one, if you put Harry alongside James Hewitt and his Royal Loveliness, as Sarah would say, who would you pick as his biological father? If looks are not enough, then look at Harry's personality/characteristics. It will not take you long to decide who his real father is, as he is the mirror image of him.
The section that Sarah wrote in her book about this debate about Harry highlighted the fact that the Royal family have an understanding about members of the family who are not related biologically. They accept a member regardless of whose genes they carry, as their own. Hmmmmm., enough said.
This book also showed, that just like Diana and Sarah Ferguson, when you become surplus to requirements within the Royal circle, you become redundant and pushed away. The Palace Diaries offers a lively portrait of everyday life in the Royal Family and I feel is great value for money.
What let's it down is the lack of photographs. There are some pictures in the middle of the book but nothing personal. The pictures are taken from media clippings, not from Sarah's own camera.
Charles had his chance to help his senior Lady Clerk when she requested a one to one meeting with him prior to her sacking. Instead he became oblivious to her being unemployed and waffled on about his plants. One good thing on Sarah's side is the fact that she peed in his Royal Lust Buckets bushes at Highgrove, whilst he walked passed oblivious to the fact she was crouching just inches from him with her knickers round her ankles.
Good on you girl and so it goes on. A very modern, rather daft yet great fun book. I'll bet Prince Charles will fall about laughing if he gets to read it, or is allowed to. xx
**Stockists:***
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