12 Memoirs That Spilled The Royals' Juiciest Secrets

On January 10, 2023, Prince Harry stunned the world with the publication of his memoir, "Spare." The book's release captivated the attention of fans across the globe, selling a record-breaking 1.43 million copies, according to The New York Times. Part of the memoir's appeal, of course, was Harry's firsthand insight into the inner life of the British royal family. Far from the serious — and rather severe — image that most royals have traditionally shown to the public, Harry's portrayal of his own family is highly personal and often negative. 

Indeed, the prince famously used "Spare" to allege that his older brother, William, once physically assaulted him. He also claimed that his father, King Charles III, didn't even hug him upon discovering that Princess Diana died. All in all, these allegations proved extremely controversial. While Harry and Meghan Markle have been supported by important figures, like Oprah Winfrey, they have also faced a great deal of backlash. As royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, told US Weekly when asked if Harry and Meghan will get an apology from the royal family, "I think it's absolutely clear that that is not an option" (via YouTube).

Interestingly, however, "Spare" is far from being the only royal memoir to ever shake the institution. From King Edward VIII's earth-shattering confessions about his pursuit of Wallis Simpson to a palace press secretary's account of Diana and Charles' divorce, more than one royal memoir has laid out the royal family's deepest secrets to the public.

Although King Edward VIII's autobiography was revealing, there was another royal memoir that was arguably much more controversial. Written by royal nanny Marion Crawford, "The Little Princesses" is a tell-all recounting Crawford's experience raising the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret. Although highly autobiographical, Crawford's book also offers an intimate glance into the marriage of King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother. 

Hired in 1931, while George and the elder Elizabeth were still the Duke and Duchess of York, Crawford was quick to note the loving relationship between her bosses. She wrote that the pair "were devoted to each other and very much in love, and I remember thinking they looked just as a duke and duchess ought to look, but often don't" (via London Review of Books). Crawford also described the couple's evening rituals, sitting by the fireplace, while George did some relaxing needlework. 

As for the little princesses, Crawford described a straight-laced future Queen Elizabeth and a more theatrical Princess Margaret. Apparently, Elizabeth even used to try to correct her younger sister's behavior. The nanny mused, "How often ... have I heard [Elizabeth] cry in real anguish, 'Stop her, Mummie. Oh, please stop her,' when Margaret was being more than usually preposterous, and amusing, and outrageous." Unfortunately, however, the revelations from this memoir were just too personal for the royal family to bear. Shortly after its publication, Crawford was expelled from royal grounds. She was never spoken to by the royal family again.

Princess Margaret may have been famous for her party girl behavior, but Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner, had a different perspective on the rebellious royal. As one of the princess' ladies-in-waiting, Tennant developed a deep friendship with Margaret — and she recounted the tale of their friendship in her 2019 memoir, "Lady in Waiting." According to Tennant's account, when she and her husband, Colin Tennant, purchased the island of Mustique in 1958, Margaret was one of the first "brave" souls to venture out to the private destination. With no electricity or running water available on the island, Tennant was initially concerned about the princess' ability to enjoy the experience. However, it seems, Margaret surpassed her host's expectations.

Of their time together on Mustique, Tennant wrote, "[Margaret] arrived with no fuss a few months later, happily using the bucket of water in the trees to shower, just like we did. The food, too, was basic: although we had fresh fish, everything else was tinned. She didn't seem to mind" (via The Daily Mail). In addition to this astonishing insight into Margaret's character, Tennant discussed some of the deeper, personal issues that the princess faced in her marriage to Lord Snowdon. Describing the home that Margaret eventually built on Mustique, Tennant shared, "It was the only house she ever owned and it made her very happy because apart from being beautiful it provided her with an independent base from her husband."

Members of the British royal family tend to love their privacy, but that doesn't mean that they are ever absolutely alone. Thanks to the presence of butlers, maids, and other staffers, royals can't always keep their intimate secrets under wraps. That was certainly the case for King Charles III and Princess Diana, whose housekeeper, Wendy Berry, witnessed the disintegration of their marriage. Following her time as a housekeeper at Kensington Palace and Highgrove House, Berry proceeded to write a royal memoir, "The Housekeeper's Diary." The result was so controversial that it was banned in Great Britain. 

In the book, Berry claimed that Charles and Diana went to great lengths to make it seem like their marriage was still functional. In one anecdote, Berry wrote that Diana used to plant her earplugs between Charles' sheets in the morning to make it seem that she had slept with him (per Five Books).

Although these kinds of bombshell accusations are the ones that landed the book on the "banned" list, much of Berry's account reveals what it's actually like to work for the Windsors. For example, the housekeeper described Charles' hard-boiled egg preferences: "I knew that Charles wanted his eggs cooked for three minutes exactly, and that Mervyn [the chef] usually had several lots on the go to ensure that at least one batch was perfect. The others were simply thrown away" (via The Daily Mail).  Berry marveled at the number of eggs that were tossed out at Charles' request, writing, "Now that's royal service for you."

On July 23, 1986, Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew and became the Duchess of York. Shortly following the magic of the royal wedding, however, Sarah suffered greatly at the hands of the press. Labeled "the Duchess of Pork" by cruel and inappropriate media outlets, Sarah developed an eating disorder. A few years later, Sarah separated from Andrew and exited the inner fold. In the royal memoir, "My Story," Sarah opened up about her motivations for dipping out of royal life.

According to her account, 1992 was a huge year for Britain's most famous family. Sarah recalled, "The queen would later call it her annus horribilis, the year of torn mornings and shattered peace" (via Express). Indeed, it was in this year that Sarah and Andrew parted ways, at least informally — the two would officially divorce in 1996. Even so, it was in '92 that "Andrew and I had been discussing a separation." 

Per the duchess, the reason had little to do with her love for Andrew and everything to do with her hatred for royal life. She wrote, "I had reached the end of my royal rope. For six years I had shouldered the demands of palace life. I'd endured the constant scrutiny of the British press and the barely veiled hostility of the royal household ... They were killing me by inches." Thus, her memoir echoes the stories of royal women, like Princess Diana and Meghan Markle.

Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, published not one, but two, books about what it was like to work for the ill-fated People's Princess. Published in 2006, the second royal memoir, "The Way We Were," focused on Burrell's friendship with Diana. Recalling the time when Diana was finalizing her divorce from King Charles III, Burrell wrote how the princess took out her revenge on her ex's wallet.

When it came time to renovate Diana's Kensington Palace apartments, the princess apparently told her butler, "Make a list of everything we need and let's spend a bit more of his money while we can!" (via ABC News). In what Burrell described as some lighthearted mischievousness, "We bought new towels, sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, china, crockery, silver, and kitchenware."

Despite the tone of this story, many of Burrell's anecdotes are wholesome, even providing insight into what she was like as a mom. The butler remembered, "My sons, Alexander and Nick, were often invited up to the palace to play with William and Harry." He went on to describe how informal Diana could be when playing with her boys: "Sometimes the princess joined the boys in that [sitting] room for burgers and fries, fish fingers, or spaghetti Bolognese, served on trays or foldaway tables."

Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," is most famous for the bombshell accusations that it makes against certain members of the royal family. However, the book also reveals a softer side of Harry, even detailing the way he reacted to Princess Diana's death. At one point, the prince admitted to believing that Diana had orchestrated the whole accident in order to fake her death. Harry wrote, "Suspicion took hold, which then became a firm belief ... Her life's been miserable, she's been hounded, harassed, lied about, lied to. So she's staged an accident as a diversion and run away" (via The Independent).

The prince also discussed why he believed that the press was, ultimately, responsible for his mother's death. He explained, "Even if the [driver] had been drinking, even if he had been drunk, he wouldn't have had any problem driving through such a short tunnel. Unless paparazzi were following him and dazzled him" (via Yahoo).