A Daily Mail Book of the Year and a The Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2021

'Monumental.. Authoritative and highly readable.' Ben Macintyre, The Times

'A fascinating history of royal espionage.' Sunday Times

'Excellent... Compelling' Guardian


For the first time, The Secret Royals uncovers the remarkable relationship between the Royal Family and the intelligence community, from the reign of Queen Victoria to the death of Princess Diana.

In an enthralling narrative, Richard J. Aldrich and Rory Cormac show how the British secret services grew out of persistent attempts to assassinate Victoria and then operated on a private and informal basis, drawing on close personal relationships between senior spies, the aristocracy, and the monarchy. This reached its zenith after the murder of the Romanovs and the Russian revolution when, fearing a similar revolt in Britain, King George V considered using private networks to provide intelligence on the loyalty of the armed forces - and of the broader population.

In 1936, the dramatic abdication of Edward VIII formed a turning point in this relationship. What originally started as family feuding over a romantic liaison with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, escalated into a national security crisis. Fearing the couple's Nazi sympathies as well as domestic instability, British spies turned their attention to the King. During the Second World War, his successor, King George VI gradually restored trust between the secret world and House of Windsor. Thereafter, Queen Elizabeth II regularly enacted her constitutional right to advise and warn, raising her eyebrow knowingly at prime ministers and spymasters alike.

Based on original research and new evidence, The Secret Royals presents the British monarchy in an entirely new light and reveals how far their majesties still call the shots in a hidden world.

About the Author

Richard J. Aldrich is a Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick. A regular commentator on war and espionage, he has written for The Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph. He is a prize-winning author of several books, including The Hidden Hand and GCHQ.

Rory Cormac is a Professor of International Relations specialising in Secret Intelligence and Covert Action at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of Disrupt and Deny and co-author, with Richard J. Aldrich, of The Black Door.

Reviews

This monumental book is really a history of the British secret services, focusing on the fascinating moments when this intersects with royal history... Authoritative and highly readable... As every page of this book attests, the royals have always been involved in secretly directing the affairs not just of this country but of many others.

-- Ben Macintyre * The Times, 'Book of the Week' *

Bizarre and disturbing episodes are revealed in this excellent history of the royal family's relationship with espionage... Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac's fascinating history argues that modern intelligence evolved out of efforts to prevent Queen Victoria being assassinated... Through unbelievably thorough research - all of it fully referenced for grateful future scholars - they have compiled something comprehensive and compelling.

* Guardian *

A fascinating history of royal espionage... The book, which stretches back to Elizabeth I and her spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, has something of interest on pretty much every page.

-- Rowland White * Sunday Times *
Gripping * Daily Mail, 'Books of the Year' *
Authoritative and gripping. * Observer *

Their mastery of a subject that is extensive both chronologically and in its geographical scope is assured and impressive... An intriguing alternative narrative of British royal history.

-- Matthew Dennison * Sunday Telegraph *

Aldrich and Cormac have written an important book. Packed with new material and fresh insights, it offers an original way of looking at royal history. It's also a very good read.

-- Jane Ridley * Literary Review *

[A] thorough and informed survey of how matters of high state have really worked - and work.

-- Alan Judd * Spectator *
Intricate, ingenious and determined... Intelligent, fair-minded and a pleasure to read. * Times Literary Supplement *
A valuable and unmissable read. -- Alexander Larman * The Chap *
Outstanding research that shines a light into the very darkest corners of the British establishment. Filled with royal revelations - our monarchs are viewed through an entirely new lens - as keepers of the secrets and even as spy chiefs. Were Victoria and Elizabeth II more like 007's mysterious "M"? This is the royals as we have never seen them before and each story is supported with startling new evidence. -- Kate Vigurs, author of Mission France, on The Secret Royals



Book Information
ISBN 9781786499127
Author Rory Cormac
Format Hardback
Page Count 736
Imprint Atlantic Books
Publisher Atlantic Books
Weight(grams) 1300g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 165mm * 60mm