{{Short description|Book about the British royal family and espionage}} {{italic title}} thumb|First edition cover '''''The Secret Royals: Spying and the Crown, from Victoria to Diana''''' is a book by Richard J. Aldrich and Rory Cormac about the relationship between the British royal family and British intelligence agencies. It was published in 2021 by Atlantic Books.<ref name='Atlantic'>{{cite web|title=Atlantic Books: The Secret Royals|url=https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/the-secret-royals/|publisher=Atlantic Books|accessdate=20 July 2022}}</ref> In the forward to the book Aldrich and Cormac write of the difficulty of researching the book, noting that "writing about spies is challenging; writing about royals is more difficult; and writing about spies and royals has sometimes seemed impossible".<ref name=Guard>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/07/the-secret-royals-by-richard-aldrich-and-rory-cormac-review-spying-and-the-crown|title=The Secret Royals by Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac review – spying and the crown|date=7 October 2021|author=David Pegg|work=The Guardian|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref>
''The Secret Royals'' was reviewed in ''The Times'' by Richard White and Ben Macintyre.<ref name=TimesOct1021>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-secret-royals-by-richard-j-aldrich-and-rory-cormac-review-a-fascinating-history-of-royal-espionage-ncx3pqpfm|title=The Secret Royals by Richard J Aldrich and Rory Cormac review — a fascinating history of royal espionage|date=10 October 2021|author=Richard White|work=The Times|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=TimesOct821>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-secret-royals-by-richard-aldrich-and-rory-cormac-review-a-history-of-the-monarchy-and-spying-g06n5q005|title=The Secret Royals by Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac review — a history of the monarchy and spying|date=8 October 2021|author=Ben Macintyre|work=The Times|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> It was reviewed in ''The Daily Telegraph'' by Matthew Dennison.<ref name=TelegOct821>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/secret-royals-review-needs-silly-diplomats-spies-palace/|title=The Secret Royals review: who needs 'silly diplomats', when there are spies in the palace?|date=10 October 2021|author=Matthew Dennison|work=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref> Dennison described the book as full of "Piquant, poignant and unexpected details [that] humanise the business of monarchy" and offered an "intriguing alternative narrative of British royal history".<ref name=TelegOct821/> In ''The Times Literary Supplement'' the book was reviewed by historian Richard Davenport-Hines.<ref name=TLSDec21>{{cite news|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/secret-royals-richard-aldrich-rory-cormac-stars-and-spies-christopher-andrew-julius-green-book-review-richard-davenport-hines/|title=All ears|date=3 December 2021|author=Richard Davenport-Hines|work=The Times Literary Supplement|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref>
''The Secret Royals'' was named a Book of the Year by the ''Daily Mail'' and a Best Book of 2021 by ''The Times'' and ''Sunday Times''.<ref name='Atlantic'/>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Royals}} Category:2021 non-fiction books Category:Atlantic Books books Category:Books about United Kingdom royalty Category:Books about espionage Category:Books about politics of the United Kingdom