Courtiers cover art

Courtiers

The Sunday Times bestselling inside story of the power behind the crown

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Courtiers

By: Valentine Low
Narrated by: Valentine Low
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

 'Fascinating' The Times

'Tantalising . . . Low's conclusion is a valuable one.' The Telegraph

The gripping account of how the Royal family really operates from the man who has spent years studying them in his role as Royal correspondent for The Times. Valentine Low asks the important questions: who really runs the show and, as Charles III begins his reign, what will happen next?

Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers - the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle - to ensure its survival as a family, an ancient institution, and a pillar of the constitution. Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Meanwhile, newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be.

The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging. With a cloud hanging over Prince Andrew as well as Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. As the new Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate - equipped with a very 21st century approach to press and public relations - now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant for the decades to come.

Courtiers reveals an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.©2022 Valentine Low Education Europe Great Britain Politics & Activism Royalty Monarchy England

Critic reviews

Low's enjoyable account... chronicles, and explains, the role of those courtiers whose role comes closest to public accountability... [and] there are tantalising unattributed snippets from private interviews... Low's conclusion is a valuable one
Fascinating
This book is riveting. Extraordinarily well written, it canters along, packed with impeccable inside information. Low . . . is one of the exceptional minds writing about the British monarchy today (Thomas Blaikie)
Courtiers is an excellent royal romp based on fact. (Sphere)
Courtiers is a suave history of the monarchy over the past century, seen through the prism of those who serve it . . . a remarkable insight . . . and an important addition (Mark Bolland)
Engaging and thoroughly researched . . . Low doesn't stint on insider gossip, thanks to his unprecedented access to royal households, and he has perceptive things to say about power and responsibility too.
All stars
Most relevant
was eagerly awaiting this book, but the narration was so absolutely ghastly, slurry sounded like a drink old posh man slurring into an old tape recorder i could barely listen to most of it, such a shame

dreadful narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book has been overrated & over reported in the press. It is about so many trivial details regarding every member in living history of the royal family (and more). If you’re here for Harry & Meghan drama don’t hold your breath. Just another endorsement for the royals - including excuses for tax avoidance.

Overrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Perhaps the reviews about how poor the narration is helped as it didn’t seem so bad compared to them. My disappointment was in how the author uses Meghan to plump up the book for increased interest. Where she is concerned it strays far from the story of courtiers to discuss her through what is now a typical negative light. Sometimes he tries to be more even handed but the overriding theme is that she is not a nice person, this disappointments me, I don’t know her but even if she is as bad as people say should you really add fuel to a fire of public hatred for one person whose worst alleged crimes are being an unpleasant hypocrite? On the other hand the media get off very lightly, as with so many writings against Harry and Meghan it seems accepted that the media can do as they please and not going along with them means that you are asking for trouble. Is it such a heinous crime to try to retain some privacy over the birth of your child? And in terms of the court ruling in Meghan’s favour over the publication of the private letter she sent to her father I see no circumstance where the media can establish they had the right to reproduce this without her consent. I had to smile that after the suggestions that there was good reason and she was lucky courtier’s were not cross examined the book ends with the usual spiel about copyright for the author.

Disappointing in parts

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the insights this book provided. It really helps with the understanding of how things come to pass.

Fascinating insight into how it all really works!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was okay, but I was expecting much better.

However, the worst part was the narration, which was truly awful, and made it very difficult to listen to. I should have bought the kindle version instead!

The author, who narrates the book, constantly sounds like he sucking on a boiled sweet, with very noticeable sounds of saliva and swallowing all the time. It was very unpleasant to listen to, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish the book. By far the worst narration I’ve ever listened to.

The book is possibly worth reading if you can get it in a deal at a discounted price, but I would highly recommend reading it and not getting the audio version.

Dreadful narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews