sarah goodall lady clerk to prince charles of buckingham palace uk london england
the palace diaries author sarah goodall nicholas monson book review linda randall the idea girl
I have just finished reading the enjoyable and fun novel “The Palace Diaries Author Sarah Goodall & Nicholas Monson A Story Inspired by Twelve Years of Life Behind Palace Gates.”
It was a controversial novel that came out on the market in North America in 2006. It was banned from the UK and rightly so.
Prince Charles, (referred to as the BOSS) who is the future King of England and married to Camilla Parker Bowles is the main theme of this story, It is obvious that Sarah sees HRH (His Royal Highness) as a saint, tender hearted, loving, kind, affectionate towards his dog “Tigger,” lover of nature and someone whose been through a rough time during his marriage to Princess Diana.
It’s pretty obvious that the “Bossette” (Princess Diana) and Sarah didn’t get along either. The negativity in this book is astounding. I don’t think there is one kind word about Diana from start to finish, yet there are loads of kind words about Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Sarah refers to Camilla as a delightful “friend” even though they sat together at dinner for ONE evening and had a two minute chat.
An interesting recount of what it’s like to be a lady clerk for the royal family. A dream job if you ask me with very long hours, lots of cool travel time and interesting people to talk too. When I first read the news articles about this book it’s quite the pity that Sarah, in order to get people interested in “buying” this book, claims that Camilla Parker Bowles was jealous of her and that was the main reason she got sacked from her twelve year position as Lady Clerk for Prince Charles.
Sarah talks about her work ethics and what really happened in the final chapter of the book, but there isn’t ONE word about that in the papers. How many people can arrive at work LATE a zillion times and take extended lunch hours on a continual basis?
The day Sarah was fired she was told that it was due to her “poor time keeping, “refusal to listen to the new boss “Elaine” (who was originally her understudy a few years back and much younger then herself) and last of all making forbidden cell phone calls within the palace walls on work time. NO ONE that I know would get to keep their job for three months with this kind of behaviour. The Palace was generous in letting Sarah stay there for twelve years because she was a fast worker and very good at her job.
I would think that Sarah was fired because she wasn’t doing as she was supposed to do, that’s it plain and simple. The fact that she was told back in 2000 that she was being “familiar” with his Royal Highness after attending a dinner and drinking several glasses of wine, which she cannot remember what she did.. And no one tells her.
It’s unbelievable that she would openly say to the press that Camilla is to blame for her losing her job. Other than that, the book is a wonderfully written read, lots of fun and very light hearted Bridget Jones style of prose. The good thing is that Sarah recommends several other books so you can hear the other sides of the story from what happened to Princess Diana and from Prince Charles. It’s a bit of a sad and shocking tale. I was shocked to read that the two royals had a major communication barrier between them. Sarah paints Diana to be a something other then what we thought her to be.
I am biased, being human and living life as a customer service and sales girl for around twenty years, I get to study the antics of the very rich and poor. We are all the same, and for those in Britain who were quite harsh to their fellow beings, I want you to know that you’ve probably suffered from your Karma. I’m English as well, but I’ve been raised in Canada and taught to love everybody, forgive all faults and to walk in peace and harmony. I’ve been taught by my uncle that one must never go to bed angry with the other; especially if they are your spouse for the anger will fester into bitterness and cause nothing but a huge wedge between two parties. Such was the case with the royal family – Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
I love all of them and wish them well and I can understand why Prince Charles didn’t want everyone reading about his personal life and trials. But if you ask me, it personally put him in a different light for me. I don’t follow the gossips or books I just adored the Princess, and now I can see there were two sides to the story. I now have more respect for Prince Charles then I did before. I was misinformed by the media about what really happened. Thanks to sensationalism and the drive for people to make money in book, magazine and newspaper sales, the royal family and its friends, lovers and former employees have suffered the indignity of having their personal thoughts, emotions and lifestyles paraded before the world.
Sarah reveals her wild lifestyle while being a lady clerk and she makes several gossipy admissions about the Princess Diana and her love life. If she were alive today you can bet she would have sued the pants off of Sarah for writing about her in that way….
John_Travolta_and_Princess_Diana dancing black tux and floor length gown
