July 29 marked the 33rd anniversary of Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles. Although the couple’s marriage would eventually crumble following the revelation of Charles’s affair with Camilla Bowles-Parker, the royal duo is perhaps one of the most famous couples of all time. And, despite his past actions, it is still quite apparent that Prince Charles never lost his love for Princess Diana, as exhibited by his latest fury concerning the upcoming release of an exposé by the Queen’s former Press Secretary, Dickie Arbiter.
Arbiter joined the staff of the Royal Palace in 1988 and was a member until 2000. During his twelve years of service, Arbiter was privy to all the intimate and confidential details of the royal family. Arbiter became Prince Charles’s confidant while he was struggling with his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, and was close enough with the Queen that the two even did the dishes together at one point in time. It was this close relationship with the Queen which gave Arbiter access to such secret information such as the Queen’s opinions on other Prime Ministers and world leaders throughout her reign.
Doing a big publicity shoot today for my book On Duty With The Queen
— Dickie Arbiter (@RoyalDickie) July 31, 2014
Royal Palace sources have commented on the publishing of the book, stating:
Charles is furious. This man was a trusted friend…He is raking over the breakdown of the marriage and the Prince has been asking aides Why do we have to go through this all again? It is just a case of a man who he thought was a friend and who could be trusted cashing in on the misery of that time. It is disloyal… Arbiter has been told that he does not have official permission to write this book and a legal team has reviewed all his old contracts in a bid to try and find a way to stop it.
While Palace sources state Arbiter is legally bound to not publish the book due to the Official Secrets Act he signed upon becoming an employee of the Royal Palace, Arbiter and his legal team believe that the publishing of On Duty With the Queen does not violate any contractual obligations Arbiter may have: “It is an autobiography – it is about my life. There aren’t any revelations… I left a note at the palace telling them I was doing it. I am not breaching anything.”
On Duty With the Queen certainly promises to be insightful and entertaining due to Arbiter’s position within the Royal Family, but Prince Charles and the Queen cannot help feeling betrayed, especially due to comments once made by Arbiter himself: “Everyone who writes a book is just cashing in. Frankly there is nothing more to write on Diana.”
With the publishing of his book, Arbiter can join the leagues of hypocrites everywhere, as he expects to cash-in a cool £250,000 for his memoirs. On Duty With the Queen is set to be released on October 1, 2014.
Image via Twitter