Clara’s Verdict
Paul Burrell is, as he acknowledges directly in this memoir, a Marmite figure. You either find his twenty-year proximity to royalty fascinating and his loyalty to its central figures genuinely moving, or you find the entire enterprise uncomfortably intimate, the loyalty performative, the memories selective. I will say this honestly: I went in belonging to the second camp, and came out considerably more sympathetic. The Royal Insider is not a sensational book. It is not trying to embarrass anyone or settle scores, which distinguishes it immediately from much of the royal memoir genre. It is, rather, the account of an ordinary man from a small Yorkshire village who ended up at the centre of extraordinary history, and is trying, in his mid-sixties, to tell that story truthfully. At eleven hours, with Burrell narrating his own text, it earns your time and more.
About the Audiobook
Burrell’s career at the palace spanned more than two decades: footman to Queen Elizabeth II, then butler to the then-Prince of Wales, then – most famously – confidante, butler, and trusted friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. His first memoir, A Royal Duty, caused considerable controversy when it was published and sold over two million copies. This new book, written and published after the Queen’s death in September 2022 and the beginning of Charles III’s reign, takes a longer view and a more personal one. Burrell has said he felt that only now, with both the Queen and Diana gone, can he tell his full story without violating confidences he had pledged to keep.
What distinguishes this memoir from the genre’s more sensational examples is Burrell’s evident, unreserved affection for the women he served, and his refusal to calculate the commercial value of what he reveals against its human cost. He writes candidly about the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage and about his own complicated, evolving relationships with Princes William and Harry. He describes unexpected moments of warmth and intimacy with the Queen – a young, eighteen-year-old Burrell, fresh from Grassington, being patiently guided through palace protocol by a woman of uncommon kindness. He speaks about his estrangement from his wife Maria, about his own journey to happiness, and about his diagnosis with prostate cancer. The personal and the historical are genuinely intertwined throughout, not merely juxtaposed for commercial effect.
The Narration
Burrell reading his own memoir is the right decision. His voice is warm and unhurried, with the natural cadences of a man who has spent a life in personal service – attentive, measured, occasionally emotional but never maudlin. One reviewer perceptively noted that it felt like reading a long, intimate letter, and that observation captures something real about the narration: there is an intimacy to the delivery that a professional actor would almost certainly have smoothed away in an attempt to produce a more polished performance. Burrell is not a trained narrator, and there is occasional unevenness in pace and emphasis. But the authenticity more than compensates, and the result is something genuinely moving in its directness.
What Readers Say
The audiobook holds a 4.4-star rating from 603 Amazon listeners – strong for this kind of memoir. UK reviewers are consistently positive and often struck by Burrell’s evident decency. One described him as “an extremely decent, kind person without any grudges,” finding it “surprising really given the appalling way he was treated by some.” Another was simply “unable to put it down,” finding the details of palace protocol and dress code as absorbing as the royal revelations themselves. A third wrote movingly that reading it gave her a much better understanding of the late Queen as a human being: “What a kind, caring person she was.” The 4.4 rather than higher rating likely reflects the Marmite quality Burrell himself identifies – those who approach it determined not to be persuaded sometimes find the devotion excessive – but the majority who engage openly report finding it surprisingly honest and genuinely affecting.
Who Should Listen?
This audiobook will appeal most obviously to those with an existing interest in the Royal Family, particularly the Diana years and the long reign of Elizabeth II. But it is also, at a deeper level, a book about service, loyalty, grief, and self-reinvention – themes with entirely universal resonance that extend well beyond the palace gates. Listeners who have enjoyed Robert Lacey’s work, or who found Tina Brown’s The Palace Papers compelling, will find Burrell’s perspective usefully different: he was in the rooms, not watching from outside. An ideal listen for long journeys or afternoons when you want something absorbing, human, and genuinely felt.
Listen on Audible UK: Get The Royal Insider on Audible UK. Also available on Kobo, Scribd, and Storytel.
