Cheap ROYAL SERVICE (Book) (Stephen P. Barry) Price

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Customer Reviews of ROYAL SERVICE

TEDIOUS, TIRESOME AND SYCOPHANTIC DRIVEL
I recently found this book - in hardback - as I was going through some boxes of royal junk and miscellany. Upon re-reading it I had not realised how inconsequential it was - but I suppose Mr. Barry had to cash in on his job experiences in order to maintain the lifestyle to which he was not born and in which he got very comfortable, indeed.

He needed a really good editor and/or proofreader because there are some real howlers in his text: "Duke of Argyle" for "Duke of Argyll", "Castle of May" for "Castle of Mey" (the late Queen Mother's northern Scottish residence), "the Earl of Spencer" for "the Earl Spencer", "Lord and Lady Spencer" for "the Earl and Countess of Spencer", "Lord Snowden" for "Lord Snowdon", and he keeps referring to some entity called the "Gold Coast" - I believe he means the "Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) in Africa. This is not the complete list of his inadequacies as a royal diarist and passable writer.

That being said, there is one telling photograph that is unattributed showing The Queen and her family on the Royal Yacht Britannia. In it, Her Majesty is wearing SLACKS! There was a recent controversy that when The Queen exited the hospital after surgery on her leg that said that this was only the second time she had been photographed in such garb. Apparently, all the pompous pundits forgot about THIS photograph. It made for good cocktail chatter for about two weeks and friends were amazed that I could dredge up proof of the factual errors of ALL of the newspapers and scandal rags.

I feel the reviews by the two other readers were gushing and over-the-top - the book is only a tarted-up diary with some very occasional and all too infrequent insights. But the photos are interesting and of some archival use. Mr. Barry later succumbed to AIDS.

Timothy Wingate, Canada

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The Butler did it (discreetly)
There is an old saying that goes 'No man is a hero to his valet'. That may
or may not be the case, however Stephen Barry's innocuous memoir was written
to reveal as little of the un-heroic side of the Prince of Wales as possible.
The book suffers for the discretion of the author and In light of the
revelations to come after this book was written, it does so needlessly.

Serving Charles as his valet from 1970 to 1982, Barry was in a unique
position to observe Royalty close-up. He makes the most of the opportunity
and is willing to let a few (and only a few) tid-bits out of the bag. Did
you know that the Prince is obsessed with making sure that his favorite brand
of honey accompanies him wherever he travels? Or that the Prince prefers a
sweater to central heating (A trait he shares with Queen Victoria)? These
and many other startling revelations await the reader of "Royal Service: My
Twelve Years as Valet to Prince Charles" Not surprisingly, one topic that

permeates the book is Charles' desire for privacy. This was a desire that was
often unheeded by the many people around him. Knowing this, one wonders why
the book was written at all.

Both the author and the Prince were born in 1948, thus after a few years
training, as a footman Barry is the right man of the right age in the right
place to become the valet to Charles. This relationship persists until
shortly after his wedding to Diana. That proved to be a period during which
many of the long-term servants of the household go on to new duties.
Strongly and repeatedly denying any sort of a fight between himself and the
Princess, Barry writes "Understandably she would not wish to have around
herself and her husband those who had known him at earlier times when there
were other girl friends".

Primarily, the book is organized along topical lines. Travel with the
Prince, Holidays with the Prince, the Prince and the other members of the
family, The many girl friends of the Prince, and so on. There is also some
material organized in a chronological fashion about the duties that Barry
held in the palace prior to his work for Charles.

Barry is the first to point out the dichotomy of the situation that he was
in. He often saw more of his royal master that Charles' family or friends.
And yet it was always from the perspective of the master/servant
relationship. After all, "However kind and friendly they are, in the end
they are Royal".

Barry is quick to play up this relationship (going so far to point out that
at least one portrait of the Prince is Charles' head and Barry's body wearing
garter robes). However he often gives short shrift to the many other members
of the team who worked with the Prince. While the Policemen who serve
Charles often are mentioned in anecdotes it is only on occasion that we hear
about the junior valet who also works with Barry to tend to the Prince. In
fact the assistant is never mentioned by name!

While the book hints at many things in the intimate female relationships the
Prince has had Barry is quick to mention that Charles always handled his love
interests with such discretion that Barry never found the Prince in bed with
anyone! This comes after he repeatedly states how it was his duty to awaken
Charles each morning at 7:50. This may or may not be so but in any event it
belies the closeness that Barry seems to have felt.

Time has not been good to this book. It abounds with many unintended
ironies. Barry himself did not live to see all of them come to public light
but here is a sample of some from the book:
"People always seemed to die when we were at Balmoral. This complicated
things for me, getting the Prince's wardrobe together"
On Camilla --
"For many years before he married, the gossip was that the Prince of Wales
was strongly influenced in his choice of girl friends by two married women -
Lady Tryon .... And Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowels, the wife of a cavalry officer.
....
The Prince is simply not the type of man to dally with married women."
"Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles, is a hunting friend....and the friendship ... seems
to have survived the marriage"
On Diana -
"she was a friendly and open young woman. The crew of the Britannia fell in
love with her to a man"
"She liked giggling and she loved eating sweets. She always got into the car
with her Yorkie bars or bags of toffees. 'Have one Stephen,' she'd say. 'Go
on.'
'You'll get fat,' I used to warn her. But she undoubtedly burned up all those
calories contending wit the pressures that were building up. "
"The camera flashing in her face, the constant pestering finally got through.
She burst into tears. ......
The prince came back as soon as he could and comforted her, but it was easy
to see that he was worried. Was she going to fail to cope with all that being
Royal demands, right at the last minute, five days before the wedding? ... But
the young lady is very resilient and she soon perked up again"

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An interesting and informative book. . .
. . .by the former valet of the Prince of Wales. This is not a tattle-tale tell-all -- instead it is, especially for Americans, an intimate and heartwarming look into the mystique of the British Royal Family. Barry is discreet and complimentary throughout, while relating amusing anecdotes about the Royals as he moves through their lives as one of the principal servants to Prince Charles.

An enjoyable read.