Courtiers

In the eighteenth century, the palace's most elegant assembly room was in fact a bloody battlefield. This was a world of skulduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty-spots, where fans whistled open like flick-knives.

Ambitious and talented people flocked to court in search of power and prestige, but Kensington Palace was also a gilded cage. While its inhabitants were cocooned in comfort and splendour, successful courtiers had level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses.

“All those flowers placed outside Princess Diana's London home 13 summers ago are only the latest chapter in the history of one of those palaces where the walls could tell many a tale about the intersection of aristocracy and political culture.”—Martin Rubin, "The Wall Street Journal"

“Brilliantly entertaining … [she] writes with flair, bringing her characters to life … In spite of its accessible charm, "Courtiers "is a serious historical study which chisels much richness from the ornate, dingy, contradictory world of the palace.”—"Times Literary Supplement"

“As chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces charity Worsley couldn’t have been in a better position to winkle out the secrets of one of the palaces under her aegis.  She has written a book that vividly brings to life the reigns of the first Hanoverian monarchs and almost humanises the two Georges … Worsley’s book is full of extraordinary charact

Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces (including Hampton Court and the Tower of London), Lucy Worsley is a leading young historian. She regularly appears on TV and radio shows including BBC TV's The One Show and Timewatch. Her first book, Cavalier, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim.

'Taking the sixteen courtiers represented in William Kent's Grand Staircase painting, Worsley herds them through the glittering confusion of the court so vividly that one can hear them scheming'. Independent on Sunday, Books of the YearFrom Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces and presenter of If Walls Could Talk, comes this absorbing and intimate look behind the scenes of the Georgian court. Ambitious and talented people flocked to become courtiers at Kensington Palace in search of power and prestige. But the Palace was also full of skulduggery, politicking and secrets - successful courtiers needed level heads and cold hearts. From the Vice Chamberlain with many vices to Peter the Wild Boy, treated by the court as a pet, to the long list of discarded royal mistresses, Worsley throws new light on the dramatic lives of these eighteenth-century royal servants.'Worsley's style is wonderfully readable and her talent for empathy enormous ... haunts one's imagination.' Sunday Telegraph'We have a fine modern historian to guide us through the dreamlike maze of 19th-century palace life'. The Times'Uncovers the pathos behind the facade ... Worsley handles her material with style'. Daily Telegraph

An eye-opening portrait of an enthralling group of royal servants, Courtiers also throws new light on the dramatic life of George II and Queen Caroline. In the eighteenth century, the palace's most elegant assembly room was in fact a bloody battlefield. This was a world of skulduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty-spots, where fans whistled open like flick-knives. Ambitious and talented people flocked to court in search of power and prestige, but Kensington Palace was also a gilded cage. While its inhabitants were cocooned in comfort and splendour, successful courtiers had level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses.

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