ON DUTY WITH THE QUEEN
My Time as a Buckingham Palace Press Secretary
Dickie Arbiter with Lynne Barrett-Lee
Published by The Five Mile Press, $34.99
Distributed in New Zealand by David Bateman Ltd
From 1988 to 2000 Dickie
Arbiter was a press secretary for the Queen, working out of Buckingham Palace.
He was at the forefront of all things Royal and had the privilege of working
alongside the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the late
Diana, Princess of Wales. This was arguably one of the most turbulent periods
in the history of the modern British monarchy.
With unprecedented access
to some of the most notable figures of our time, Dickie’s memoir On Duty with the Queen will convey what life was like behind
the scenes at Buckingham Palace. He shares his personal stories and memories,
bringing life and colour to events much read about, along with a warmth to the
royals that has never been seen before. The book covers some of the saddest,
bleakest times for the monarchy, including the divorce of the future king and
the death of Princess Diana.
Responsible for media
managing ceremonial occasions, it fell to Dickie to coordinate the media
coverage of the funeral for Princess Diana. His account of the week leading up to her funeral will leave no reader
dry eyed or unmoved as he reflects on a nation’s loss and the ways in which
people came together to pay their respects and celebrate her life. He also
offers an insight into how the royal family dealt with their grief as a family
and in private.
Bringing readers the
ultimate insight into the royal family during his twelve years as press
secretary, Dickie reveals first-hand his experiences and personal relationships
with many of the royals. It’s a career few people dream of and now Dickie
shares his incredible story with fans of the British Royal Family the world
over.
Extract from the opening chapter of On Duty with The Queen by Dickie Arbiter.
‘If you were
approached to join the Palace press office to look after the Prince and
Princess of Wales, would you be interested?’ It was Friday 15th
April 1988 – the eve of my departure for Australia, where I would be covering
the Queen’s bicentennial tour for IRN (Independent Radio News) that I received
the phone call from Philip Mackie, one of the Queen’s press secretaries, which
would radically change my life. Perhaps it was his distinctive Scottish brogue,
difficult to decipher at the best of times.
Or maybe what I’d heard him say couldn’t be what he’d actually
said. I asked him to repeat the
question, and much to my astonishment I had heard him correctly.’
About the author
Previously Court
Correspondent for IRN, Dickie was a poacher turned gamekeeper when he moved to
work at the Palace in 1988. A regular public speaker with
over four decades of experience covering royalty as a broadcaster, journalist
and Royal Press Secretary, he is seen
regularly on the BBC, ITV, C4, C5 and Sky in the UK. He
also appears around the world on all the major news networks in
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, New
Zealand and the USA, where his daughter Victoria Arbiter
works as CNN Royal Correspondent. Dickie is also the only Royal Commentator who
has witnessed both the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and her Silver, Golden
and Diamond Jubilees.
Twitter @RoyalDickie
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