Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family s path between public duty and private life. The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging.

With the departure of both Harry and Meghan and the disgraced Prince Andrew from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. William and Kate – equipped with a very twenty-first-century approach to press and public relations – now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant for the decades to come.

Courtiers reveals an ever-changing web of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.