Little Billy Tallon is a memoir about working below stairs for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at Clarence House. William ‘Billy’ Tallon was the Steward and Page of the Backstairs and Ty Munroe was a Head Footman responsible to Tallon.

Tallon worked for the Queen Mother for 51 years. On her death he was retrenched and retired. He had a reputation for being domineering but he could also be funny and charming and was a fascinating raconteur. He drank too much but gave it up for Lent – to give his inner organs a rest, he said.

Tallon took his secrets to the grave. He and the Queen Mother were close, a fact recognised by the bureaucrats at Buckingham Palace who entered Tallon’s home a day after his death and took away all his diaries.

Reg Wilcock, Tallon’s life-long partner and work associate, was Deputy Steward and Page of the Presence at Clarence House. Wilcock had been the Duke of Windsor’s valet in France for a number of years. He died in 2000, a few days after the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday and seven years before Tallon.

Little Billy Tallon is packed with dialogue. An imagined plot line about a new member of staff is included so that the detailed workings below stairs can be divulged as he’s being inducted.

For lovers of Royal Family minutiae this indulgent, whimsical collection of recollections is a godsend. It’s entertaining, full of gossip and a must-read for anyone thinking of working for the Royal Family.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges