The Windsor Legacy: A compelling look inside the royal bubble

Robert Jobson has been a royal correspondent for 35 years, for much of that time at this paper. He’s knowledgeable and humane. They’re an interesting breed, royal reporters; symbiotic with the institution but, if they’re good like he is, not unduly deferential.

This account of the Windsors is like a sober version of The Crown, starting with the birth of the late Queen. Like the series, too, some of the light goes out when she dies. Yet there are revelations that make the final few chapters a compelling read.

So, while he is an admirer of the King, Jobson mercilessly identifies Charles’s extravagance. (The chapter on the royal finances is damning). The King is demanding, too: “Some past staff members say surviving under ‘The Boss’ — Charles — requires a touch of sycophancy; those who fail to show the due deference that he expects to receive rarely stick around. Sir Malcolm Ross, one of the late Queen’s most senior and long-serving courtiers, was stunned by the flood of weekend calls he received when he switched to become Charles’s Master of the Household. He told other staff he received more calls from the then prince in his first weekend than during his entire time working for the Queen. One such princely instruction was to remind staff to turn off the tap while brushing their teeth.” Oof.

Interestingly, Jobson notes that sloppiness has become evident in the royal household. “Whispers suggest the King has been ill-served by senior aides who have let standards slip since the passing of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip,” he observes.

As for Prince William, he puts his family first to the extent that he can seem workshy. Just before the Queen’s death, she asked him to cover an engagement for her, but he refused on family grounds. What, she asked, are nannies and police for? Jobson may be a friend of monarchy, but he doesn’t let the royals off the hook. Good for him.

The Windsor Legacy by Robert Jobson is out now (Blink, £22)