Power and the Palace

Lively … peppered with entertaining lines. One of [Low’s] skills as a journalist is an ability to sift through mountains of archive material and pick out the gems. – Anita Singh * Telegraph *Eminently readable … eye-catching anecdotes – Sean Coughlan, BBCwell-researched; flashes of brilliance … Where the book succeeds is in tone: brisk, clear, never reverential. Low is a lovely writer. – Robert Jobson * Standard *Valentine Low is an old-school royal journalist … It is his disarming charm … that has guaranteed him access to the great and occasionally ghastly in the higher echelons of British society. Low’s gilt-edged gossip would not eventually disappoint … Even [his] musings on monarchy’s historic power games proved a pleasure. – Tessa Dunlop * Spectator *A serious and nuanced analysis which is also a rollicking read, spiced with plenty of good stories – Robert Hazell * Literary Review *Based on extensive interviews with civil servants, royal aides and politicians, Low’s hugely entertaining account of the vexed relationship between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street is awash with gossip, anecdotes and revelations. * Waterstones Best Politics Books of 2025 *

Valentine Low is a writer and journalist who was for many years royal correspondent at The Times. He has written about the royal family since 2008, and during that time has produced a number of exclusives, including the exposure of bullying allegations against the Duchess of Sussex which made headlines around the world. His last book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, was a Sunday Times bestseller. He lives in London.