Courtiers

In the eighteenth century, the palace's most elegant assembly room was in fact a bloody battlefield. This was a world of skulduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty-spots, where fans whistled open like flick-knives. Ambitious and talented people flocked to court of George II and Queen Caroline in search of power and prestige, but Kensington Palace was also a gilded cage. Successful courtiers needed level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses. An eye-opening portrait of a group of royal servants, Courtiers also throws new light on the dramatic life of George II and Queen Caroline at Kensington Palace.

Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, based at Hampton Court. She also appears regularly on radio and television, on BBC1's The One Show, as well as Timewatch and other history programmes. Lucy is the author of Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace and Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses. Please drop in at www.lucyworsley.com for more information.