Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant Kindle Edition

This is an enjoyable read about a servant to the Queen Mother who became her intimate and confidante, but the tales about Tallon’s private life are as interesting, if gossipy, as the accounts of his service to the Queen Mother. Many incidents involving Tallon burnish the Queen Mother’s reputation as a lovable, broad minded, fun loving, generous member of the Royal Family, and what was of particular interest was Tallon’s connection to other members of the Royal Family after her death and the end of his service. This book is a good prequel or sequel to reading The Courtiers by Valentine Low. Together the books provide an interesting and frequently surprising glimpse into the real lives of royals and the workings of palace power structures.

A very entertaining and insightful read. Who knew Elizabeth loved gin? The relationships between the various levels of staff was most interesting. A very well written book that holds your interest and provides wonderful imagery,while giving a very human glimpse of The Queen Mother.

Though the subject and his matter are of great interest, I found this to be a somewhat dull read. I wish the scope had been widened to include key events in the life of the royal household such as the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne, the Queen’s “Annus Horribilis” and the divorce of Charles and Diana and her untimely death. These events must have surely registered in Billy’s world at Clarence House and Birk Hall. Instead it was chapter after chapter of “Billy was saucy and drank and whored about too much”...sigh.

If you have any interest/knowledge of the royal family, this book is for you. The book is well-written, and the author does a great job. I was disappointed in the fact that the royal family, yet again, totally abandoned a loyal, faithful servant. (They did the same thing to Sir Norman Hartnell, but obviously not mentioned in the book). I don't understand how they could allow someone who took such amazing care of the Queen Mother be totally frozen out and basically tossed out with the rubbish. Shame on you "royals", he may have made enemies, but he didn't deserve the sad end to his remarkable life. The Queen Mum would have been horrified by how the story ended, and the present Queen should be ashamed.

lots of repetition, framing the same story over and over again.

This book was well written and obviously well researched. The Queen Mother has been gone for years but her life and those associated with it still seem to be of the greatest interest to the world.

I really enjoyed this book - a great insight into the life of the Queen Mother - William Tallon was unique, a boy from a modest background living in such splendor - he certainly lead the life; - highly recommended.

Not worth the time to read. The author just sat down and wrote the same words, over and over. If you really want to read some great insights on the Royal Family and their associates, I highly suggest the Journals of Kenneth Rose, volumns I and IIKenneth Rose knew and lunched with all the pertinent characters of the day.Other better books are Lady Diana Cooper's Diaries, Cecil Beaton's Diaries....John Julius Norwich book about his Mother, Lady Diana Cooper, and The Final Curtsey by Margaret Rhodes.

This wonderful book is unputdownable. It's the best book I have thoroughly enjoyed reading for a long, long time, and I advise anyone who has come across it to read it as you will not be disappointed, it's worth every minute of your time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this incredibly insightful and sympathetically written book about someone who held a unique position in the life of our beloved Queen Mum. There is no doubt that Billy loved her for many reasons and she in return depended on him for many years, and for his devotion to her I say God Bless Him for looking after her so well. This is an unputdownable book for anyone with a love for all things royally related and the author has done a great job in this portrayal of life of a bygone era.

I loved this book because it showed just how nuts the royal family really is, but then in reality the Queen Mother appeared to try very hard at being a real person, and the protocol around her that discouraged her from doing so. She survived the regime, and lived to a good age. William Tallon got his licks in too by defying and manipulating the system by making his own rules as he went along. . So, all in all, both of them were cut of the same cloth and survived for different reasons. To me, the Queen Mother lived through William and I believe she even encouraged him to be who he was because she wasn't allowed to. She probably laughed in secret at his defying the system as much as he could. By the way, The Queen and her gin well - I think she drank a tidy bit to survive the nonsense in the Palace. It was one thing her handlers didn't have control over.

This was very funny but also very poignant in part. It definitely showed up how out of touch The Queen Mother was with the real world as we know it but one thing is clear was how devoted Billy was and how supportive The Queen Mother was.

It was a great read, I really enjoyed seeing what life in the royal family is really like.