A Royal Duty: Updated with New Material
by Paul Burrell
List Price:
Our Price: $3.49
You Save: $4.50 (56%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Paul BurrellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-01
ISBN: 0451212762
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Signet
Book Reviews of A Royal Duty: Updated with New Material
Book Review: A Royal Obsession
Summary: 1 Stars
I find it stunning that this book would have so many positive reviews. Before I knew that Paul Burrell had made headline news in England for lying on the witness stand and for the fact that his brother-in-law claims Paul Burrell said he had sex with Princess Diana and last but not least cheating on his wife with many men over the years, I was already forming opinions from his own words that he was a certifiable nutjob. The main part of the books consists of him laying the groundwork for how important he was to Diana. He makes it sound like it was the two of them against the world. This comes at the expense of betraying Diana's loyalties as in even the picture he himself paints of her, you know she would have felt betrayed. The book is littered with incidences of his self-serving choices and he sprinkles it with some pity he has for Diana. How unbelievably aggrogant. The rest of the book is a focus on his trial, where he was accused of stealing hundreds of items of Diana's. Why a non-relative would have that many of her things is beyond me even after reading pages and pages of his literal pleading with the reader to understand why he would. For an innocent man, he was terrified of the court proceedings complete with episodes of crying and a suicide attempt. He is obviously the protagonist in the book yet I could see perfectly why people turned against him even though the book was from his point of view. The worst part is that he benefitted from all the relationships and good will that Diana worked hard to achieve in her life because some people testified in favor of him at the trial. I bet they regret that now. He had most people fooled. This is a man with very low-self esteem who was completely obsessed with Princess Diana and her own issues of trust and insecurity certainly worked against her as he sat like a vulture on the shoulder of her life. If he ever truly cared about her he would have respected her sons' wishes that he not write this book. There is a special place waiting for Paul Burrell in Cocytus in the Ninth Circle of Hell. Read this book if you are intrigued by dark and creepy things like Burrell's mental derangement, but don't read it if you are looking for any sort of truth.
Summary of A Royal Duty: Updated with New Material
Now comes the long awaited book, A ROYAL DUTY by Paul Burrell, the man in whom she confided on matters big and small. Paul, one of the Queen's personal footmen, met Diana during one of her first visits to Balmoral Castle. And while it may have been fate that brought them together, they shared a strong bond that endured to the end of her life. Burrell became Diana's confidant and his unique perspective casts new light on the Princess of Wales and the events that would shape her life and the lives of those around her.At the time of her death there was much speculation about Diana's future plans including her thoughts about remarrying and the possibility of relocating to America. Paul, who was one of the last people to speak with her, hopes to set the record straight for the Princess he so admired and cherished. Drawing on private conversations, personal recollections, diaries and letters, Paul has written an extraordinary account of a unique time in the history of the Royal Family.
When asked why he wrote the book, this is what Paul had to say. "I have made this book as true to her spirit as possible-as inspiring, as loving, as fun. Over the last six years I've had time to reflect on the extraordinary events that I have witnessed. During that time, I have watched and listened patiently as many individuals have claimed to know the truth about the Princess of Wales. I have watched and listened knowing that what was claimed to be the truth is actually far from it. I decided reluctantly to tell what I know to be the truth because I firmly believe that someone has to stand in the Princess' corner and fight for her now that she cannot do so. I welcome the official inquest into her death and it is my hope that it will uncover what really happened that night in Paris. I never thought that I would need to write this book but then I never thought that I would need to redress the balance. I never thought that I would need to defend the Princess against untruths from many different quarters. I was devoted to the Royal Family for many years-first to the Queen, then to the Prince of Wales and finally to the Princess and I remain a loyal subject. But I believe that it is important that the truth is known NOW rather than waiting for the details to emerge in official papers when they are released in 25 years."
British Books
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Mrs Duberly's War: Journal and Letters from the Crimea, 1854-6Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-04-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops:
Dictionary of National Biography: 8th Supplement: 1961-1970 (Dictionary of National Biography Supplement)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1981-12-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $220.34
C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Musicby Jeremy Dibble
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-05-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.57
Price in other shops:
Letters of T.S. Eliot, Vol. 1: 1898-1922by T. S. Eliot
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; Published: 1988-09-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops:
Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japanby Giles Milton
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2003-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Brief Lives (Penguin Classics)by John Aubrey
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-11-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $69.95
The King, the Crook, and the Gambler: The True Story of the South Sea Bubble and the Greatest Financial Scandal in Historyby Malcolm Balen
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.16
Churchill: A Biographyby Roy Jenkins
Hill and Wang; Published: 2001-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.55
Price in other shops:
Eminent Victorians (Oxford World's Classics)by Lytton Strachey
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.41
Price in other shops:
Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientistby Thomas Levenson
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2009-06-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.63
Price in other shops:
The Housekeeper's Diary: Charles and Diana Before the Breakupby Wendy Berry
Barricade Books; Published: 1995-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.07
Price in other shops:
The Murder of Princess Dianaby Noel Botham
Pinnacle Books; Published: 2004-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsorby Christopher Andersen
Hyperion; Published: 2008-05-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Diana, An Amazing Life: The People Cover Stories, 1981-1997by Editors of People Magazine
People; Published: 2007-07-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.45
Price in other shops:
The Way We Were: Remembering Dianaby Paul Burrell
William Morrow; Published: 2006-09-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops:
The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivorby Trevor Rees-Jones, Moira Johnston
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2000-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.39
Price in other shops:
After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsorby Christopher Andersen
Hyperion; Published: 2007-06-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.24
Price in other shops:
The Diana Chroniclesby Tina Brown
Anchor; Published: 2008-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Wordsby Andrew Morton
Pocket Books; Published: 1998-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.33
Price in other shops:
The Way We Were: Remembering Dianaby Paul Burrell
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2007-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.25
Price in other shops: