When Sir Michael Peat arrived from Buckingham Palace in 2002 to take up the job as Prince Charles’s private secretary, he came with a clear agenda. His instructions from the Queen were to sever Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles because it was a mess and was detracting from his work. Penny Junor Read Quote
Kate Middleton has no blue blood coursing through her veins. Her father, Michael, is self-made, and he and his wife have been very successful with their party business, but they are and always will be strictly middle class. Penny Junor Read Quote
For much of the final decade of the 20th century, one story regularly dominated the news across much of the developed world. It was the unravelling of the marriage between the heir to the British throne and his beautiful, charismatic princess, Diana. Penny Junor Read Quote
The fact is, Charles and Diana’s marriage was a train smash in many ways, and, as Camilla will one day be Queen, it’s important for the public to understand she’s not some terrible woman. Penny Junor Read Quote
Diana became a superstar when she became a part of the Royal Family because she brought youth and glamour and fun into a staid and dusty institution, and at times she eclipsed the Prince of Wales. It was one of the early problems within their marriage. Penny Junor Read Quote
Prince Charles has his foibles, but he is not a crook, not a bully, and not a hypocrite. Penny Junor Read Quote
My house is full of paintings by my mother Pam. She was a fantastic, prolific artist but had no confidence in herself, thanks to my father running her down. They married during the war when she was 19 – she had planned to go to art school. But my father didn’t want her to work, so she became a housewife. Penny Junor Read Quote
