Prince Charles furious that his former aide Dickie Arbiter has written a tell-all
When we were discussing our Celebitchy Book Club selection The Diana Chronicles a few months ago, I admitted that I had forgotten some details about Diana’s life. Tina Brown made a point of discussing “the Men in Grey,” meaning the men who work for the Queen, and how they often dismissed Diana and thwarted her at every turn. This story is about one of those men. His name is Dickie Arbiter and he worked for the Queen and for Prince Charles over the years. And now he’s promoting a new tell-all memoir of his royal years and Prince Charles is FURIOUS.
Prince Charles has blasted a former close aide for “betraying” him in an explosive new book. The Queen’s ex-Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter is set to reveal secrets about Charles’ relationship with Diana and the breakdown of two other royal marriages.
A palace source said: “Charles is furious. This man was a trusted friend.”
👉 For more insights, check out this resource.
For 12 years, Buckingham Palace Press Secretary Arbiter was regarded by Prince Charles as a man he could trust with his deepest secrets. Every inch the tight-lipped loyal aide, Arbiter stood by him during the bitter breakdown of his marriage to Diana and his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. He was also in office when Diana was killed and witnessed the breakdown of two other royal marriages during his turbulent time in office.
Nicknamed Sticky Arbiter, he will claim in his book that he was so close to the Queen they once did the washing up together. But the 73-year-old is set to hang out the Royal Family’s dirty laundry – and be the first Buckingham Palace press officer ever to spill the beans on what he witnessed behind closed doors. Speculation over what lies inside his upcoming biography has sent shock waves through the regal corridors. It is understood officials have been taking legal advice in a desperate attempt to halt its publication.
👉 Discover more in this in-depth guide.
A Palace source said: “He is raking over the breakdown of the marriage and the Prince has been asking aides ‘Why do we have to go through this all again?’ It is just a case of a man who he thought was a friend and who could be trusted cashing in on the misery of that time. It is disloyal. Arbiter has been told that he does not have official permission to write this book and a legal team has reviewed all his old contracts in a bid to try and find a way to stop it.”
Last night Arbiter admitted he had signed the Official Secrets Act and left a “note” with the palace to say he was writing the book. The ex-aide, who has previously blasted others for selling royal secrets, stands to rake in around £250,000 from publishing advances and serialisation fees. He still receives lucrative pension payments from the Royal Family.
It is understood Arbiter’s shock disclosures will detail how Princess Diana felt “humiliated” by her husband’s affair with Camilla and her “dark days” as an unhappy wife. The book is said to reveal how the relationship went “sour” after Diana had been “madly in love with Prince Charles at the start of their marriage.” A source said Arbiter will also “delve into the dark days” of Diana’s “isolation” and “humiliation” as Charles’ affair with Camilla first came to light.
[From The Daily Mirror]
The Mirror starts previewing all of the scandals that Arbiter will cover, to the point where I’m pretty convinced that the Mirror has already bought the serialization rights for the book. Apparently, Arbiter will also discuss at length how Charles cheated on Diana, how all of the men who worked for Charles were half in-love with Diana, and what the Queen really thinks of various world leaders and celebrities.
I tend to think Arbiter really didn’t know Diana as well as some people would like to believe. Arbiter mainly worked for the Queen, and he did some work for Charles, but Charles has his own team of extensive employees, handlers, press officers, etc. Once Diana and Charles split, she had her own people too, people who were (mostly) loyal to her. Don’t get me wrong, I bet Arbiter’s book will be scandalous and a lot of dirt will be coming out, but I think it’s mostly going to be gossip about the Queen and the workings of Buckingham Palace.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
