George Orwell once said that the British love a really good murder. He might have added that the only thing the British love more than a good murder is a really good scandal, and best of all are the sexual and political scandals that take place behind the gilded doors of Britain's royal palaces. From Edward II's intimate relationship with Piers Gaveston to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's dramatic exit from the royal family, the royal residences have seen it all. This glorious romp of a book contains new information on well-known and not-so-well-known scandals, including those that have only recently been revealed through the release of previously secret official papers. Exploring surviving palaces such as Kensington as well as long‐vanished residences including Whitehall, Scandals of the Royal Palaces is the first in-depth look at the bad behaviour of not just the royals themselves but also palace officials, courtiers, household servants and hangers‐on. Delving into the bitter hatreds that generations of King Georges nursed for their eldest sons, Queen Victoria's opium‐fuelled rages and Edward VII's near-miss perjury conviction, royal expert Tom Quinn reveals that scandal and the royal family have always been bedfellows. And if the behaviour of today's royals is anything to go by, the glittering palaces will continue to house intriguing, embarrassing and outrageous scandals for centuries to come.

トム・クインは、絢爛豪華な王宮の奥に潜む「不都合な真実」を、権力という装置が孕む宿命的な人間ドラマとして描き出します。本書の本質は、歴代の王たちが抱えた愛憎や狂気を機密文書から紐解き、高潔な伝統の裏側にある生々しい欲望を暴いた点にあります。歴史の教科書が隠し続けた王室の真の姿は、読者の好奇心を激しく揺さぶります。 特筆すべきは、王族のみならず従者たちの視点も交え、閉ざされた空間特有の歪みを浮き彫りにした文学的深みです。時代を超えて繰り返されるスキャンダルの連鎖は、人間性の普遍的な滑稽さと悲哀を映し出す鏡に他なりません。虚像を剥ぎ取り、一族を等身大の人間へと引き戻す著者の筆致は、私たちを背徳的な歴史の迷宮へと誘うことでしょう。