Valentine Low’s Power and the Palace is a study of how sovereigns and politicians have circled one another for two centuries. It is well-researched; flashes of brilliance sit alongside passages that feel well worn. Among the revelations in the book’s serialisation was the late Queen’s aside to George Osborne to tell Barack Obama, “It’s time to go to bed”.
At its heart, the book is about the monarchy’s slow retreat from political influence. Low shows how active interventions of the past gave way to the tight constraints of the 2010 Cabinet Office manual. Where the book succeeds is in tone: brisk, clear, never reverential. Low is a lovely writer. Where it falters is in scope. Readers looking for definitive judgments on the Crown and Downing Street may be left wanting.
