The Palace Papers

Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil

By: Tina Brown

Narrated by: Tina Brown

Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “addictively readable” (The Washington Post) inside story of the British royal family’s battle to overcome the dramas of the Diana years—only to confront new, twenty-first-century crises

“Frothy and forthright, a kind of Keeping Up with the Windsors with sprinkles of Keats.”—The New York Times (Notable Book of the Year)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Elle, Town & Country

“Never again” became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Princess Diana’s tragic death. More specif­ically, there could never be “another Diana”—a mem­ber of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone, and posed an existential threat to the Brit­ish monarchy.

Picking up where Tina Brown’s masterful The Diana Chronicles left off, The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the trau­matic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet.

Brown takes listeners on a tour de force journey through the scandals, love affairs, power plays, and betrayals that have buffeted the monarchy over the last twenty-five years. We see the Queen’s stoic re­solve after the passing of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother, and Prince Philip, her partner for seven decades, and how she triumphs in her Jubilee years even as family troubles rage around her. Brown explores Prince Charles’s determination to make Camilla Parker Bowles his wife, the tension between William and Harry on “different paths,” the ascend­ance of Kate Middleton, the downfall of Prince An­drew, and Harry and Meghan’s stunning decision to step back as senior royals. Despite the fragile monar­chy’s best efforts, “never again” seems fast approaching.

Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevoca­bly change how the world perceives and under­stands the royal family.

©2022 Random House (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Zingers crisscross these pages like tracer fire. . . . [Tina Brown] becomes the ideal tour guide: witty, opinionated and adept at moving us smoothly from bedchamber to belowstairs while offering side trips to the cesspits of the tabloid press, the striving world of second-tier celebrities and the threadbare lodgings of palace supernumeraries.”—The Wall Street Journal

“[Tina Brown] deploys her sterling contacts and deeply embedded sources, her familiarity with British royal history and her personal encounters with royals, palace courtiers, politicians and journalists to serve up a luscious feast of . . . well, yes, gossip. But what elegant gossip, dressed up in Brown’s stylish sentences and erudite insights.”—USA Today

“Gripping . . . [The] real power of this book is the cumulative picture it builds of lives as they have to be lived by the rules and customs of the Windsor palaces.”—The Daily Beast

Tina Brown reads her book

Given up listening. Will read it. She is racing through. Not a pleasant listen. I’m used to way better from Audible.

Audible narration is dreadful

Did sophisticated, savvy Tina Brown listen to her ghastly narration? I am half way through my pricey Audible version, & I am giving up the spoken version for the first time ever. I can't tolerate a minute longer Ms. Brown's sprinting through the text at breakneck speeds. Slowing the speed button does not help. She consistently swallows words, mumbles at the end of sentences. You can't sit back and relax since one is on high alert to just understand the fast-paced, often indistinct spoken word. Good narration is integral to enjoyment, and I thankfully have enjoyed many well paced, clearly spoken narrations. Sorry this is not one. Buy the book and avoid the Audible version.

nothing new

absolutely everything in this book can be found online. there's nothing new. it's an attempt to sell us queen Camilla and king Charles. save your money.

bad narration

Tina Brown is a great writer but an absolutely awful narrator. Authors shouldn't narrate the book.

Underwhelming

Having read Tina Browns “The Diana Chronicles” and enjoying her honesty, wit and even juicy gossip, I was looking forward to “The Palace Papers” . It’s certainly not a bad book, but it has very little new information. Brown seems to have seriously dialed back her acerbic observations. William and Kate come off quite well, and Harry and Meghan less so, although Brown takes a somewhat apologist tone with Meghan Markles more questionable actions. Diana isnt presented as the perfect martyr, which is refreshing. She was very media savvy and rather manipulative.

I think if there had been new revelations and possibly read by another narrator, I’d have given this book a higher score. It’s just ok. I preferred Lady Colin Campbells “The Real Diana.”

Don't Bother

There is absolutely zero new information in this book. Its simply a rehash of information from previously public interviews, other books and published accounts. Don't waste your money.

Biased

Listened to less than 10 minutes, did not like how the author spoke of Megan. Audible won’t allow me to return this book. So I feel obligated to let you all know my opinion.

Snooze Fest. Nothing new.

If you wanted more details about William and Harry, this isn’t the book for you. Their drama is barely touched. Nothing new revealed. Lady Colin Campbell’s book is the one you want to read. I can’t remember the name…I was HOPING this was something similar. Nope. Just the most boring, already known royal family biography.

Reading is Too Fast

It’s not enjoyable when the reader is racing through the material so fast that I’m needing to keep rewinding to hear what’s being said. Isn’t there any way to slow the audio down????
Carole

Palace Papers is a hit!

I listened all the way through 2 days! I'm so impressed with this well written book by Tina Brown about all the major members of the British Monarchy. There is never a dull moment, and it moves right along without being salacious - packed full of so many bits of information. The stories are interesting indeed. The author manages to show us the humanity in all and allows us to see this hardworking family from all perspectives. I for one now appreciate them so much more and I'm an American🇺🇸. They carry the weight of the Common Wealth on their shoulders and do it for their love of the people.