Courtiers by Valentine Low

Author:Valentine Low
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Shea’s version of events was that his phone conversations with Freeman were meant to be informal briefings for an article Freeman said he was preparing about the monarchy in the distant future. According to Freeman, however, Shea had been surprisingly willing to discuss the Queen’s political opinions, saying things like ‘on race and social division, she is well to the left of centre’.29 He was even more specific on her opinions on the miners’ strike, the Libya raid and the Commonwealth.

It will, perhaps, never be possible to reach a definitive judgement about what was said in those conversations. Was Shea seduced by the persuasive Freeman? Did The Sunday Times use a bit of artistic licence in its interpretation of what was said? Ben Pimlott concluded that it was a case of wishful thinking on the part of The Sunday Times and imprudence on the part of the palace. Heseltine does not dispute that interpretation: ‘At this distance, I wouldn’t disagree too drastically with Pimlott, only I have to say that instead of the “palace”, I lay the blame on our side squarely on Michael Shea.’ Shea, who died in 2009, can no longer answer for himself.

In the immediate aftermath of the story, Shea was treated with kindness by Thatcher. However, he did not remain long at the palace. Six months later, it was suggested to him, politely but firmly, that perhaps it was time he found something else to do. As Heseltine said, ‘It was a novel idea that a member of the household could actually be sacked.’ One former member of staff at the palace recalled that Shea had the ‘effrontery’ to ask for a knighthood before he left.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.