Alan Judd

The delicate business of monitoring the monarchy

Richard J. Aldrich and Rory Cormac describe the often problematic relationship in the past between the Crown and the intelligence services

Painting by Theodore Blake Wirgman of Queen Victoria and Benjamin Disraeli following the signing of the Berlin Treaty in 1878. The previous year they had bypassed the Foreign Office in order to warn the Tsar against taking Constantinople. [Getty Images]

  • The Secret Royals: Spying and the Crown, from Victoria to Diana

    Richard J. Aldrich and Rory Cormac

    Atlantic Books, pp. 725, £25

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On a Saturday morning, no life stirs. The village café is closed and the ancient church of St Beuno’s is locked and deserted. Beside the stone porch stands a dusty glass case that advertises church services and parish gatherings. Not a single event is scheduled. This is the peaceful village of Botwnnog (pronounced Bot-oon-awg) in

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