Backstairs Billy: The Queen Mum's Butler | Warner Bros. TV

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  • Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
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    This is the story of a 15 year old boy who rose from lowly beginnings - an ironmonger’s son from County Durham obsessed with working for the Queen, to be the man who after 50 years with the Royal family knew all of their hidden secrets, and knew only too well the power that knowledge represented.
    As the Queen mother’s Butler and key palace insider he saw and heard everything, but never told. Now his story can be told for this first time.
    His life is one of obsession, power, politics and hierarchy inside the royal circle. But since his death, Tallon’s legacy has also revealed another side, a man split by loyalty, overrun by his sexuality and feared by those who worked for him behind the palace’s closed doors. This we will explore, as well as the bon viveur the royal family so enjoyed.
    Backstair’s Billy’s story will take us deeper ‘below the royal stairs world and hierarchy’ into the methods and rules of the waspish, bitchy world of ‘’behind the scenes’ in the royal household.
    With first hand testimony from those who knew, loved, worked for and came up against Bill Tallon, the film will show how he and his partner Reg were the ‘power couple’ whose position allowed them enormous influence and control over young servants and the household itself.
    It will examine the controversy of Bill’s relationship with Princess Margaret and how that ultimately probably cost him his career, and special place within the Royal heart. How after 50yrs service to the Windsors and closeness to the Queen Mother, he ended up ostracised by the Royal family, alone, in a tiny flat in Kennington.
    This is the insider story of the key 'man in the background' - who knew the Queen Mother and the royals better than anyone else.
    #WarnerBros #WBITVP #FullEpisode #FreeTV

КОМЕНТАРІ • 494

  • @davidpescod7573
    @davidpescod7573 Місяць тому +259

    The Queen Mother did not quietly go following the death of King George VI. She was ruthless in getting her own way. Definitely the iron fist in a velvet glove

    • @catherinegriessel56
      @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +12

      Good for her

    • @talmadge1926
      @talmadge1926 Місяць тому +20

      She referred to Clarence House as "a horrid little house". As Prince Philip had been largely responsible for the re-furbishment and redecoration during his and Princess Elizabeths tenancy, this can hardly have improved the strained relation between he and his mother-in-law.

    • @janetsides901
      @janetsides901 Місяць тому +19

      She was supposed to move out when Elizabeth became Queen. Phillip made her leave. She still thought she was THE queen.

    • @deanvrabl
      @deanvrabl Місяць тому +5

      You're so.right !!! She was a lion, not just a horoscope sign, but also as a person

    • @brendaford4920
      @brendaford4920 Місяць тому +9

      @@talmadge1926 yes I remember that Philip and Elizabeth were sad to leave Clarence House and they’d spent a lot of money refurbishing it. The Queen Mother probably disliked it less than she made out.

  • @johnohara197
    @johnohara197 Місяць тому +85

    Rita comes across as a lovely person and a great and loyal friend, to Billy!

    • @Hava744
      @Hava744 Місяць тому +10

      Rita looks so young to be a friend , like a different generation. What’s her secret!

    • @johnohara197
      @johnohara197 Місяць тому +10

      @@Hava744 Being a kind and decent Human Being.

  • @kellydiver
    @kellydiver Місяць тому +28

    It sounds to me like he had a remarkable life, doing exactly what brought him joy. I’m sure he knew what benefits he would have (or not have) when time came for him to be retired. He didn’t die on the street - he died in his apartment. I’m sure he also knew that he was alcohol dependent and could do something about that, but chose not to. I don’t know why people seem to think he was mistreated - on the contrary, he was treated very well by the royal family for over a half century.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +9

      @kellydiver He had a civil list pension from the late Queen and the then Prince of Wales paid him £60,000 in 2003, to write a private memoir of his time with Queen Elizabeth. Of course he also had his state pension. He wasn't exactly starving under a hedge.

    • @joannanangle4876
      @joannanangle4876 21 день тому +1

      Correct

    • @joannanangle4876
      @joannanangle4876 21 день тому

      Correct

  • @catherinegriessel56
    @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +41

    He seemed to jog along quite nicely with parties, restaurants, dinner invites, very nice suits, shopping done for him and he had a nice roof over his head by the look of it, all us OAPs should be so lucky

    • @marthafoley8214
      @marthafoley8214 Місяць тому +4

      Good point, he lived the life he always dreamed of as a child.

    • @j.dunlop8295
      @j.dunlop8295 Місяць тому +1

      Obviously, the queen had lots of girlfriends!

  • @Lila-BeamMeUpAlready
    @Lila-BeamMeUpAlready Місяць тому +59

    If only he’d left a memoir.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +4

      @@Lila-BeamMeUpAlready He did. He compiled one privately for the then Prince of Wales, who paid him £60000 in 2003

    • @loreensmith4864
      @loreensmith4864 Місяць тому

      ​@@michaelmontagu3979like most memoirs it will be made public when all current people involved are dead. That's how history is made.

  • @Rosiedelaroux
    @Rosiedelaroux Місяць тому +95

    I always think the NOEL COWARD quote is the best. “ Elizabeth Bowles Lyon- was an incredible snob , intellectually slow but had a nice smile “.

    • @melianna999
      @melianna999 Місяць тому +18

      with crooked teeth.hehe

    • @user-qy9rt9cy2b
      @user-qy9rt9cy2b Місяць тому +14

      She was known too be a bully

    • @lucius4556
      @lucius4556 Місяць тому +15

      Dawn French said in an interview once that she met the queen mother as a child, she scared her to death because of her black teeth which she was well known for.

    • @Jamietheroadrunner
      @Jamietheroadrunner Місяць тому +9

      lol! Thanks for that. People always think these people must be intelligent simply because of their station in life.

    • @geniawheddon7402
      @geniawheddon7402 Місяць тому

      She was high born

  • @cynthiaalver
    @cynthiaalver Місяць тому +28

    Very interesting video. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Thank you.

  • @catherinegriessel56
    @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +136

    Like all jobs nobody is indispensable, once youve served your purpose your gone and forgotten

    • @January.
      @January. Місяць тому +2

      catherine: *, you're gone and forgotten.

  • @2godless
    @2godless Місяць тому +42

    This should be a Netflix show or movie.

  • @christinadiaz4349
    @christinadiaz4349 Місяць тому +18

    Everyone saying she should have made provisions for him. He was paid very well and even given free housing for nearly 30 years. You tell me what job would give you that? He was very well capable of making provisions for himself. More so than the most of us that’s for sure.

  • @MissPerriwinkle
    @MissPerriwinkle Місяць тому +70

    imagine the secrets he knew......

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому

      It's not hard to imagine. A lot of people who never did a day's work or cared for anyone outside themselves getting drunk all day. Sickening people; waste of human skin. Problem is, William was exactly like them, passing the arrogance and entitlement of the royals down to the people who were under his power in the house. Small, petty, worthless wastes of human skin - upstairs and downstairs.

  • @franzppoonglbe2887
    @franzppoonglbe2887 Місяць тому +103

    The Queen Mother should have made provisions for his future, but she was notorious for thinking primarily of only herself.

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому

      Yeah, and he thought so hard about other people, like the other servants (apart from the ones he wanted to rape and the 'high society' he wanted to hobnob with, buying their company with the free liquor and hospitality provided by the Queen Mother, ultimately)? He thought only of his power, his connections, his privileged position, and nothing of the people he worked with - apart from his gay clique - and nothing about providing for his own future. He ended quite as he could have been expected to end: like a cancer dying when the host body dies.

    • @christinadiaz4349
      @christinadiaz4349 Місяць тому +13

      Really? Because he would have been fired by anyone else. She promoted him to the highest position. Gave him free housing for nearly 30 years. He was paid very well.

    • @lisaquigley-moon9583
      @lisaquigley-moon9583 Місяць тому +15

      Why didn’t he make provisions for himself to save money for himself?

    • @loreensmith4864
      @loreensmith4864 Місяць тому +7

      Prince Charles provided accommodation and a pension for life.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +11

      @@lisaquigley-moon9583 Because he was arrogant and thought he should be provided for. But he was, rather well. A Duchy of Cornwall flat, pension from both the late Queen and the then Prince of Wales, who also gave him £60000 for writing his memories of Queen Elizabeth. He can't have done too badly to have left an estate worth more than £300000.

  • @cherryrotella3714
    @cherryrotella3714 Місяць тому +157

    The Queen Mother had plenty time to make provisions for him for when she was no longer here but didn’t 😕

    • @catherinegriessel56
      @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +22

      He was a servant first and foremost, nothing more or less, once she was gone his services were no longer required, that simple

    • @catherinegriessel56
      @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +18

      He was 70 plus and wasn't exactly living on skid row or going to food banks

    • @jacquelinearcher1158
      @jacquelinearcher1158 Місяць тому +15

      She didn’t adopt him he was an employee..he was paid and had a pension…it was a job…what did he think he would do in retirement?

    • @angelwingz892
      @angelwingz892 Місяць тому +20

      Queen Mother spent every penny she had and plenty of handouts from her daughter. She certainly would not have plans for her people, she was all about herself.

    • @ernagalvin4244
      @ernagalvin4244 Місяць тому +11

      @@catherinegriessel56 Why is it so hard for staff to understand this? They insert themselves into the inner circles of the family and then have these delusions that they are owed something. It defies belief.

  • @arrowhead3993
    @arrowhead3993 Місяць тому +120

    He should have been portrayed in The Crown series.

    • @pfranks75
      @pfranks75 Місяць тому +4

      Too controversial a figure, he could have played it safer than Billy did.

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +8

      The Queen Mother was glossed over in the Crown far too much I thought she was a huge part of the Queens life.

    • @theresamills5095
      @theresamills5095 26 днів тому +1

      It sounds like back stairs Billy was a lush like hes boss.

  • @AnnaBellaChannel
    @AnnaBellaChannel Місяць тому +18

    Remember many of the 1920-1940 servants did not now their own homes and were 100% dependant on heir employers. Billy started at age 15 years so he was completely dependant on the royal family for his housing, heating, food, clothes & everything. The world has changed a lot between 1920-2000. The Windsors are not know for their ability to read emotions and are quite reserved people.

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому

      Also dependent on them for providing him with endless booze, total power to sexually abuse and torment his co-workers and 'underlings,' a house for lavish parties, access to all kinds of powerful people who pumped up his ego and made him feel like the screaming queen he served. He got quite a high life for fifty years and was too stupid to set something aside for his old age. People like Billy are like cancer: they feed off the host body and seem to think it will go on forever, not realizing that when the host body dies, the cancer dies, too. He got what he set himself up for by being evil to his own class. Never betray your class. That's ONE way he did NOT imitate the Queen Mother and the one way he should have imitated her. All the high living and praise from people who enjoyed his parties is nothing. He will be remembered as an abuser and a piece of sh-t by the people who worked with and under him. You can judge a person's character and worth not by their sycophants, but by the way they exercise their authority over others. Funny how they couldn't find even ONE person who worked with him or under his authority who said that he was a good, fair, helpful or encouraging 'boss' to them. Only that if you were one of the Back-door Billy's 'favorites' (another gay who was willing to have sex with him or one of the insecure women who feel safer among gay men than straight men), you were safe, and if you were not to his taste sexually, you were 'out.'

  • @sophiegeorge2816
    @sophiegeorge2816 Місяць тому +74

    He didn’t die in a gutter he died in his ground floor flat in south London

    • @Querencia7779
      @Querencia7779 Місяць тому +11

      Good old Billy did quite well for himself - making £500,000 from the royal memorabilia left to him.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +13

      @@sophiegeorge2816 A flat provided by the Duchy of Cornwall.

    • @splinterbyrd
      @splinterbyrd Місяць тому +5

      @@sophiegeorge2816 Agreed, but he does seem to have fallen apart somewhat after leaving.
      It's sad, because all he had to do is get himself to an AA meeting and sober up.
      Then, based on the principle that a man can't help himself unless he's helping other people, he could have got involved as a volunteer in charitable projects. They'd have loved him.

    • @loreensmith4864
      @loreensmith4864 Місяць тому +4

      ​@@michaelmontagu3979 a flat and pension provided by Prince Charles from his duchy of Cornwall allowance.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +1

      @loreensmith4864 Ah yes, of course. Plus the civil list pension and £60000 from the then Prince of Wales, for writing his memories of Queen Elizabeth. I don't think he did too badly.

  • @joannanangle4876
    @joannanangle4876 Місяць тому +39

    Best advice don't expect anything from anybody except what you have achieved yourself through hard work you'll be much more proud of the rest of your life when you become retired you look back and think at least I worked hard hope this helps you young people out there

    • @loreensmith4864
      @loreensmith4864 Місяць тому +6

      Never expect anything from anyone and you'll never be disappointed.

  • @mariannevontrapp1063
    @mariannevontrapp1063 Місяць тому +80

    The queen mother also left behind huge debts, running into the millions. The liquor bill was also huge LOL.

    • @redwoods7370
      @redwoods7370 Місяць тому +12

      She loved her champagne.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +4

      The late Queen Elizabeth II made the decision to allow her mother to live as she wanted as her husband died so young. Payback was that Queen Elizabeth left almost her entire estate to her daughter.

    • @samanthab1923
      @samanthab1923 Місяць тому

      @@michaelmontagu3979Didn’t the Queen Mum leave a lot to Charles?

    • @desstanbridge8283
      @desstanbridge8283 Місяць тому +9

      Queen Mother left 9 million in dept which Queen Elizabeth paid off. The Queen Mother had an annual allowance of £1 million per year.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +4

      @@samanthab1923 No. She left money to his sons, in a trust set up some years before her death. She left them £19 million, which was 2/3 of her personal estate.

  • @newbeginnings2056
    @newbeginnings2056 Місяць тому +11

    What a sad ending to a fascinating life for someone who started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. Even as a non-royal the press still haunted him all those years ago. Things haven't changed in some respects.

  • @JWRogersPS
    @JWRogersPS Місяць тому +40

    I used to know someone who's mother once worked in one of the offices at BP. (I don't remember which one. I think she was a secretary.) She said that while the Royal Family were nice to staff, the senior palace officials were all insufferable snobs, and treated the rest of the staff with contempt. I'm not at all surprised they had it out for Billy - a poor boy made good.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +3

      The officials were snobbish but neither the Royal Family nor the Royal Household are snobbish because they don't need to be.
      By the way, secretaries at Buckingham Palace are called Lady Clerks.

    • @seansmith445
      @seansmith445 Місяць тому

      I've heard different stories about the way the Royals treated the staff, notably Prince Andrew Princess Anne and Princess Margaret.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +4

      @@seansmith445 Andrew and Margaret were certainly demanding, and Princess Anne doesn't suffer fools, either gladly or at all, like her father. But in the Royal Family, they consider being rude to or bullying staff as beyond the pale.

    • @seansmith445
      @seansmith445 Місяць тому +3

      @@michaelmontagu3979 From things I've read in the past, Prince Andrew in particular has been very rude and foul mouthed towards servants. I don't know why you would say it's beyond the pale. Do you know them personally?

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому

      Had it out for Billy? He had it out for anyone who 'crossed' him. Very typical of his ilk when they start feeling like they can do whatever they want without consequences. He by no means 'made good.' He was a SERVANT who behaved as though he was royalty - to anyone who was 'beneath' him in the hierarchy at his job. I'd never - EVER - hire someone like him. I suppose the royals like obsequious brown-nosers who are ready to lick their sh-t and like it, but that type just behaves as badly to others below them. As the narrator said, Billy and the Queen Mother had a lot in common - and it was NOT their better qualities. The guy was a waste of human skin who was ruined by getting above himself because it allowed him to abuse his power. Thinking he was 'untouchable' and had total power all those years just proves what a deluded fool he was. He was being used precisely the way he used the others on the staff.

  • @catherinec3045
    @catherinec3045 19 днів тому +3

    The Queen spent 2 hours visiting Billy after here mother died and he's bitching about it? What a narcissist. Given how busy the Queen would have been, he's lucky he got a 2 minute visit!

  • @GoldieGold356
    @GoldieGold356 Місяць тому +18

    I wanted to see the Tea set that QE sent the painter.

    • @miramaric4383
      @miramaric4383 18 днів тому

      Three years before QM died , my friends father ( admirer)
      Sent her a CD with Christmass songs he recorded himself .
      Shortly after , he recieved hand written Thank You letter .
      She certainly had a style !!
      Now sits framed in his living room.

  • @HonestlyYours516
    @HonestlyYours516 Місяць тому +61

    It was very sad that there really was no provision made for "Backstairs Billy" when the Queen Mother died in 2002. He had devoted practically his entire life to service in the Royal household. It was also said that his lifetime partner had died. I'm not surprised that he passed away about five years later.😢

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +16

      @HonestlyYours516 No? She had given him gifts worth tens of thousands and he and his partner Reg were given a Duchy of Cornwall apartment in South London and Tallon received a civil list pension. Rather more than so many people have.

    • @TX1961
      @TX1961 Місяць тому +8

      @@HonestlyYours516 In the book, the author states that Tallon wanted some specific provisions made by the Queen Mother for him. As the QM aged and getting frail, the prospects for Billy were getting dimmer. Throughout the years, he had made many enemies by those aware of his predatory ways . Tallon was pretty much evicted from Clarence House in the end. He also became a victim of the great plague of the 80s.

    • @Querencia7779
      @Querencia7779 Місяць тому +5

      Good old Billy did quite well for himself - making £500,000 from the royal memorabilia left to him.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +3

      @@Querencia7779 And the then Prince of Wales paid him £60000 in 2003, for writing his memories of Queen Elizabeth.

    • @lynda4661
      @lynda4661 Місяць тому

      The royal family do that use n abandon

  • @Cityheart221
    @Cityheart221 20 днів тому +3

    He reached his career goal, and more, by having a relationship with the Queen Mother or at least as much as she was capable of giving her employee. He was not ever told he was part of the family. He could not expect to live on royal grounds once his position was no longer required. He did have a pension and some other money opportunities. He too was cruel to those under him. His expectations disappointed him. After that lifestyle and exposure for over 50 years it would be a challenge to adapt to a new life no longer a royal connection. He turned to the bottle instead of realistically giving himself a chance at a new life.

  • @ashleywhitethisisabsolutel1004
    @ashleywhitethisisabsolutel1004 Місяць тому +97

    Let’s not get romantic about this, he was just a butler somebody who was there to serve might have been given a privilege position, but the Royal family are friendly, They’re not your friends and he was a commoner there to serve nothing more nothing less and if you’re in any illusion about this just look at how they disregarded him once the Queen Mother had died, I think that says it all really.

    • @Celisar1
      @Celisar1 Місяць тому +20

      Honestly, after fifty years (!) you are not not just a servant.

    • @catherinegriessel56
      @catherinegriessel56 Місяць тому +22

      Like any job once your services not needed your gone

    • @Cardelrey
      @Cardelrey Місяць тому +4

      @@catherinegriessel56agreed

    • @michelles2299
      @michelles2299 Місяць тому

      @@Celisar1 if you work for the RF you are always beneath them look what they did to crawfie the queen's governess

    • @hildahilpert5018
      @hildahilpert5018 Місяць тому +7

      I agree. It,s not like he came from the landed gentry or his father was a knight. That might have made some difference .I understand the Queen Mother was something of a snob.So no surprise she didn't leave him anything.

  • @cesarbugarini499
    @cesarbugarini499 Місяць тому +3

    The Queem Mum being a low key ally😌😌😌we can be problematic 😂😂😂😂😂

  • @lvbadboy
    @lvbadboy 19 днів тому +2

    2 old queens with a real old queen LMFAO

  • @Justintime619
    @Justintime619 Місяць тому +46

    What a sad story. It’s a shame that even in death he is shamed from what I can tell is a life devoted to service. Shame he was treated so poorly…

    • @Charlotte---
      @Charlotte--- Місяць тому +9

      He made a great living and was by all accounts a nasty piece of work to his colleagues. He had illusions of grander.

    • @deev3282
      @deev3282 Місяць тому +2

      Shame how terribly he treated the young men working under him. Horrible man who abused his privileged position.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 26 днів тому +2

      @deev3282 Very true. He was an arrogant bully who used to make drunken passes at attractive young men who joined the household. If they refused they found that they just didn't fit in at Clarence House. He used to pick men up, including escorts, and take them back to Clarence House, usually giving them a tour, to show how important he was. He helped himself to what he wanted in the way of drink and food, and only got away with it because he made himself indispensable to the Queen Mother when she was a grieving widow. An obnoxious man.

    • @theresamills5095
      @theresamills5095 26 днів тому +2

      He was like his boss quite nasty. He had a good life with her.

  • @debbiep4647
    @debbiep4647 Місяць тому +7

    He was very handsome when he was young.

  • @nonosays
    @nonosays Місяць тому +9

    Pull-eeze!
    William alienated everyone and burned many bridges, confident he would forever be the spoiled old Queen's pet poodle.
    Imagine the grievances that came to Elizabeth ll's ears!
    But she could do nothing while her mother was alive.
    Good for Her Majesty!
    What goes around comes around, old Billy!
    Or should I say, Bully?

  • @p.sch.3922
    @p.sch.3922 Місяць тому +29

    Well,well,well... employees are employees nothing more or less. He had a great living and took his advantage from it...

    • @Celisar1
      @Celisar1 Місяць тому

      After 50 years you are not just an employee.

    • @Charlotte---
      @Charlotte--- Місяць тому +6

      @@Celisar1 Yes you are. Everyone is dispensable.

    • @joannanangle4876
      @joannanangle4876 Місяць тому +2

      Yes you are an employee

  • @annmacleod1099
    @annmacleod1099 Місяць тому +46

    Why did billy not make plans for his own house before the Queen mother died then he would have had a place to live and would know how to look after himself

    • @margaretbarnes2032
      @margaretbarnes2032 Місяць тому +7

      He probably didn’t think that far ahead - he may have imagined they would allow him to stay on in the gate house as a ‘grace and favour’ residence. It must have come as a real blow when he realised that they considered him as just another servant.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +6

      He had a Duchy of Cornwall flat with his partner, Reg, who also worked at Clarence House and who died before him..

    • @michelles2299
      @michelles2299 Місяць тому +6

      They are usually allowed to have a home rent free after their long service they practically give up a life to serve the royal family plus wages are not that good even now they don't pay staff very well the RF are dreadful

  • @dottieparker7274
    @dottieparker7274 Місяць тому +38

    The queen had probably heard the dreadful stories about his treatment of underlings, and she was probably very relieved to get him the hell out of there.

  • @reginaldgraves1684
    @reginaldgraves1684 Місяць тому +5

    That was very interesting, I am glad that he had a good life in service and in retirement.

  • @Celisar1
    @Celisar1 Місяць тому +22

    I never liked her for various reasons but turning 70 she looked absolutely amazing, some 20 years younger.

    • @jacquelinearcher1158
      @jacquelinearcher1158 Місяць тому +9

      She didn’t have to queue up for rations during the war…or run to an Anderson in a raid…she lived a gilded age life …no wonder she looked good for her age..

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +1

      ​@@jacquelinearcher1158the King and Queen were superb during World War 2 we were very lucky to have them Buckingham Palace was bombed seven times don't forget.

    • @jacquelinearcher1158
      @jacquelinearcher1158 Місяць тому +7

      @@simongarthwaite7695 I don’t dispute the palace was bombed the fact the Queen mother “looked good for her age “ when she grew old , when our grandmothers aged was down to lifestyle ..saying she was amazing for her age is disrespectful to those ladies like my grandmothers who had a tough time of it in three war.. queuing..running a home and doing war work ..also seeing family evacuated and sons go to war.
      Comparisons, although well meant …disrespects those poor ladies of the same generation who had a hard life ..not one surrounded by staff .

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +1

      @jacquelinearcher1158 the Queen mothers brother died during the war a did one of the Kings just as during the Great War there was little class divide during such times.thats why the King and the Queen were beloved by the ordinary folk they went through it all with them and were not spared sadness or fear.

    • @jeanmyers1787
      @jeanmyers1787 Місяць тому

      I suppose she had absolutely no stress or worries.

  • @dannybeun948
    @dannybeun948 Місяць тому +19

    Gréât documentaire 👌

  • @Jami-Frankie
    @Jami-Frankie 21 день тому +5

    I think Queen Elizabeth spending 2 hours visiting with him after her mother’s death, was her way of saying thank you.

  • @allyanderson6755
    @allyanderson6755 Місяць тому +9

    So handsome 😍. I wonder how many ladies tried and failed 😂.
    Love learning about the staff life. I wasn't there so i don't know but the Queen mother and Margaret appeared to be a tad difficult to be around too long😂.
    I imagine that when you work in a house with a family for so long you would forget that you are actually staff...not family...😮

  • @lafayettemoreira4423
    @lafayettemoreira4423 Місяць тому +25

    Making drama out of very little drama. He had a honourable life, no scandals no blunders, and after the queen mothers death, the consequences were quite natural, without human sacrifices.

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому

      Honorable? Sexually abusing and terrorizing his 'underlings'? If he had been the head of a corporation or film studio instead of a royal household, there'd be a place for him in the #metoo movement. He was arrogant, vain, and self-indulgent, a parasite who lived a high life by his association with royalty. He was loyal like a tick or leech is loyal: he knew where his liquor, his lifestyle, and his free pass to sexually abusing other employees came from. If he had had any humility or real kindness or heart for people, he would have looked after and been helpful and kind to the people who worked under him instead of exploiting and tormenting them. He would also have been prudent enough to look ahead to his own retirement, like any sensible person. But parasites always think they can go on sucking blood forever.

    • @dionlindsay2
      @dionlindsay2 Місяць тому +1

      "...without human sacrifices." Brilliant!

    • @janparish8055
      @janparish8055 Місяць тому +3

      Besides those he bullied

  • @Querencia7779
    @Querencia7779 Місяць тому +12

    Good old Billy did quite well for himself - making £500,000 from the royal memorabilia left to him.

  • @ruthelainefry2076
    @ruthelainefry2076 Місяць тому +10

    Really enjoyed this film , fascinating character was Billy and the perfect butler for a charismatic Queen Mother , who , in spite of her little foibles was the nation's darling .

  • @MrJobo1212
    @MrJobo1212 Місяць тому +15

    all people go through this at retirement and no doubt wake up in the early hours thinking thats it then were do i go from here same happened to me 22 years 6 o'clock starts giving 100%+++++ i don't believe he didn't know how to survive out in the real world he just got it done by others great docu ;)

  • @user-yk4ms7ip3g
    @user-yk4ms7ip3g Місяць тому +10

    Its incredible to see that the Queen Mother had rotten teeth. With all her wealth, she couldn't get dental care?

    • @splinterbyrd
      @splinterbyrd Місяць тому +6

      Bad teeth are a great English tradition

    • @brendalee6983
      @brendalee6983 25 днів тому +4

      They were badly stained

  • @mariaparker7545
    @mariaparker7545 Місяць тому +25

    A very sad story.... but when you work in a place like that you always have to remember that you are just a worker he crossed the line and paid the price!

  • @user-hp6yj2kf4f
    @user-hp6yj2kf4f Місяць тому +4

    He was an employee. That is all. Its called "professionalism."

  • @patconstantinou1846
    @patconstantinou1846 Місяць тому +28

    According to a documentary I saw involving Billy's co-workers at Clarence House, he was a toady, a sneak and bully, together with his boyfriend. He knew how to flatter the Qieen Mother. I'm a Royalist but can recognise a vain and determined woman. As for leaving provision for Billy, she died, allegedly, leaving several million pounds in debt, dutifully paid off by HRH, the late Queen Elizabeth 11. Let's keep it real. Karma caught up with him. Like all bullies he went to pieces when his props were removed.

  • @sheilaferguson4358
    @sheilaferguson4358 Місяць тому +12

    Yes butler and Queen well suited. Not nice people. Such horrendous snobs.

  • @alixvhessen
    @alixvhessen Місяць тому +24

    He was in his 70ies when the Queen Mother died: way older than the average pensionier. So it was natural for him to leave service. I mean .. no employer lets you stay in your old office ha?

  • @dionlindsay2
    @dionlindsay2 Місяць тому +1

    He was awarded the Royal Victoria Medal in silver, and later (as very rarely happens) in gold. He would have known the ropes - that was high praise indeed, and the way the bosses he worked for expressed themselves. I doubt if he would have felt badly treated or sorry for himself if it wasn't for the alcohol dependency.

  • @oliverwortley3822
    @oliverwortley3822 Місяць тому +6

    he was so handsome, omg

  • @TX1961
    @TX1961 Місяць тому +27

    I highly recommend the book "Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon--The Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant" by Tom Quinn. Tallon was ruthless in pursuit of young male pages and such who piqued his fancy, whether they were of his inclinations or not.

  • @bonaom
    @bonaom Місяць тому +5

    He was a paid servant and didnt have to be a breadearner of the family. What had happened to all his monthly payments from work? It was his fault for not saving his payments of 50 yrs of work.

  • @kayhathaway6956
    @kayhathaway6956 Місяць тому +15

    The Queen Mother would yell, at Clarence House, “Will you queens down there bring this queen a drink”?

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +4

      @kayhathaway6956 That's just a legend. First, of course she wouldn't. Second, her private rooms were on the second floor. She didn't have a loud enough voice. So many silly stories get made up about the Royal Family.

  • @MegaLivingIt
    @MegaLivingIt Місяць тому +8

    Great story.😊

  • @ida1751
    @ida1751 Місяць тому +2

    WHAT did he expect... he was hired personally without ever going through the wringer of a process. His stay then was totally dependent on the late Queen Mother ...

  • @philsooty61
    @philsooty61 Місяць тому +10

    I always liked her ! but power corrupts and though you may move in high class circles unless you wear the right tie you will never be invited in !

  • @oliveoil7642
    @oliveoil7642 Місяць тому +36

    As a Canadian I cannot understand this fascination and loyalty to royalty. Such an out dated institution. After WW1 all the major dynasties fell but the British Royalty continued to thrive🤔

    • @flower-the-earth
      @flower-the-earth Місяць тому +5

      As an American, I agree.

    • @wilsonsilvasilva7402
      @wilsonsilvasilva7402 Місяць тому +3

      😮😮😮😮 Não se joga ao chão uma dinastia de 300 anos ... isso é tudo !

    • @missg.5940
      @missg.5940 Місяць тому +6

      Their value in entertainment and tourism keeps them going.

    • @rcnb4903
      @rcnb4903 Місяць тому +5

      They are an important part of the government, and in fact have the ability to remove your government. They are an important check and balance to government. They aren’t just a tourist attraction.

    • @susantunbridge4612
      @susantunbridge4612 Місяць тому +5

      If you’re Canadian, you’d know that we have a Constitutional Monarchy with King Charles as our Head of State, and we have a Parliamentary Democracy. Nobody worships the monarch, but he plays an important role in keeping absolute power out of the hands of the Prime Minister, thereby preventing a corrupt President Trudeau. All our Bills go to the King for Royal Assent before they become law. That’s after perusal by the Upper House, or the Senate. Keeps things moving slowly and carefully.

  • @pmn2821
    @pmn2821 Місяць тому +6

    She certainly couldn't spoil herself enough.

  • @58christiansful
    @58christiansful Місяць тому +29

    Billy was clearly a complete nightmare.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому

      @58christiansful He was. He thought he could do whatever he wanted. He would even pick up boys for sex and give them tours of Clarence House, to show off how important he was and how lucky they were. Actually an odious drunk.

    • @saraswatkin9226
      @saraswatkin9226 29 днів тому

      He was probably institutionalsed and abused.

  • @deanolaurence3932
    @deanolaurence3932 Місяць тому +6

    He was loyal to the end

  • @LadyBlanche.888
    @LadyBlanche.888 Місяць тому +4

    What a sad story. I don't think HM The Queen knew what thank you meant to William. I have no doubt that William's spirit is indeed somewhere in the corridors and rooms of Clarence House..R.I.P William and Thank you. 🙏 💐

  • @Tidybitz
    @Tidybitz 21 день тому +2

    There's no doubt that Billy would have done an excellent job, but after many years in the job, surely he should have foreseen a time when the Queen Mother would eventually die and he should make provisions for himself afterwards. The job was for the duration of her life and he would have been better prepared for life afterwards had he done that. As far as I know, not many employers provide for ex employees when they finish so why would Billy be an exception. My dad worked down the pit for 40 years and British Coal didn't provide our house or my dad's pension. Billy was very well looked after for 40 or so years. He wasn't perfect nor was he hard done by.

  • @lindabederio4603
    @lindabederio4603 Місяць тому +5

    Truer words were never spoken. Most hated her.

  • @jacquelinevanwickevoort2649
    @jacquelinevanwickevoort2649 Місяць тому +37

    What a cold family.

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +4

      As a matter of fact the Rf are well known for how well they treat staff in General always have been even in the days when servant were treated like crap.

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +2

      @simongarthwaite7695 Exactly right. If staff were treated badly they wouldn't have stayed on so long or been so loyal.

    • @cahillgreg
      @cahillgreg Місяць тому +2

      Feeding staff chips and beans - speaks volumes about the depravity of the hse of windsor

    • @michaelmontagu3979
      @michaelmontagu3979 Місяць тому +2

      @@cahillgreg That was in the 1950s, when food was still rationed. It's much better than that now.

  • @user-bt8on5gl8s
    @user-bt8on5gl8s Місяць тому +34

    RIP BILLY,it's a Shame you were treated like trash after 50 years!

    • @DCJW00
      @DCJW00 Місяць тому +9

      That is the British Royal Family for ya!!!

    • @mariannevontrapp1063
      @mariannevontrapp1063 Місяць тому +6

      Yep, the Queen and here mother.

    • @jacquelinearcher1158
      @jacquelinearcher1158 Місяць тому +5

      He had a job and a pension…like other workers ..why would he expect more ?

    • @mariaelisa732
      @mariaelisa732 Місяць тому

      8 uiHuas t 6​@@mariannevontrapp1063

  • @joannanangle4876
    @joannanangle4876 Місяць тому +3

    Correct nobody is indespensible if you keep that in your head your half way there

  • @johnkim8957
    @johnkim8957 Місяць тому +6

    This is an incredible story, sad story

  • @splinterbyrd
    @splinterbyrd Місяць тому +4

    *35.00* I doubt anyone could persuade or dissuade Princess Margaret from doing anything if she decided on it

  • @mariagracielaarraraspizarr5206
    @mariagracielaarraraspizarr5206 Місяць тому +8

    Unfortunatelly Queen Mother was a great selfish woman.

  • @randyallman4843
    @randyallman4843 Місяць тому +14

    The Queen should have thanked Billy for helping looking after her mother.

    • @wenniferjay903
      @wenniferjay903 Місяць тому +1

      Billy did it for free??

    • @rosiepugh8310
      @rosiepugh8310 27 днів тому

      He was not important enough for queen's to bother with.😢

  • @FigaroHey
    @FigaroHey Місяць тому +10

    15 minutes in and I have the feeling, 'this is not going to end well.' There is a certain class of person who cannot cope with getting into a place of power. It doesn't matter if it's on a large or small scale: they get drunk on power and a sense of being untouchable. Every time they say that he could not be touched, couldn't be crossed, I get the feeling that he's going to end up in some sordid, squalid condition. That kind always does when they get full of themselves.

  • @gregprice103
    @gregprice103 25 днів тому +3

    he had a good life, it all ends anyway

  • @YannSGD
    @YannSGD Місяць тому +3

    J’étais assez jeune, mais pourtant je garde en tête le choc que j'avais eu en voyant la Princesse Margareth et cet homme (le majordome) qui me semblait jouer un mauvais rôle ! Et je trouvais étrange qu'il puisse avoir une telle importance ! C'était tellement triste sous les yeux de Sa Majesté la Reine-Mère. Mais c'est triste la fin de cet homme. Un homme loyal c rare de nos jours !

  • @macpduff2119
    @macpduff2119 25 днів тому +1

    Speaks so so HORRIBLY for the Queen to toss him out after 50 Years of service. She acted so dishonorably. As Michael Jackson sang "they don't care about us".

  • @emmirey4640
    @emmirey4640 Місяць тому +4

    And the Bridgeton reference.....😅

  • @irene-jb7jc
    @irene-jb7jc Місяць тому +3

    Leave a door for back stairs Willie.

  • @AndersBu
    @AndersBu Місяць тому +10

    Fun to watch
    Sad ending…….

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому +1

      Sad to watch; perfectly predictable ending. What a waste of human skin both these queens were.

  • @carolvenables3970
    @carolvenables3970 17 днів тому

    Excellent thank you

  • @DonnaCsuti-ji2dd
    @DonnaCsuti-ji2dd 28 днів тому +1

    Well done video thanks

  • @lpri
    @lpri Місяць тому +16

    'Don't forget the Pimms' - The Queen Mother

  • @robertandrews5640
    @robertandrews5640 23 дні тому +1

    HE WAS A PAID SERVANT AND HIS JOB WAS OVER IT IS THAT SIMPLE WHAT ELSE COULD HE EXPECT HIS OWN LIFE WAS his RESPONSIBILITY LIFE IS TOUGH FOR everyone GET ON WITH IT🎉

  • @angelleigh9468
    @angelleigh9468 Місяць тому +3

    Funny that this is probably the inspiration of the gay couple in the animated HBO show, “The Prince,”

  • @ida1751
    @ida1751 Місяць тому +1

    He was loyal all right bec he was about to cling to that lifestyle as long as theQueen Mother was alive. HE DESERVED what he got... his loyalty had a price.. his lifestyle within the royal enclaves...

  • @michaeljohndennis2231
    @michaeljohndennis2231 Місяць тому +2

    30:19 speaking as a gay man myself, this just shows that bullying, prejudice and discrimination from (within) the gay community has remained an unresolved issue to this day as in the song “love to hate you”

    • @carolannemckenzie3849
      @carolannemckenzie3849 21 день тому

      But there are many, many friends of friends of Dorothy. I am one. It's just hateful morons who aren't.

    • @Myohomoto
      @Myohomoto 18 днів тому

      ❤ We love you! ❤ The only kindness I received in my adopted family in the 1950s was from my mother's Uncle and her first cousin ❤ Both gay men. It imbibed in me a life long trust of these dear souls. To this day...kindred spirits.

  • @joannanangle4876
    @joannanangle4876 Місяць тому +3

    I agree your there to serve get on with it do it but look after your own life while working

  • @joannanangle4876
    @joannanangle4876 Місяць тому +3

    I agree with some of the comments the butler should have secured a one bed flat while he was earning back then he knew how to look after himself by been a butler billy was working for the royal family that was his job end of if you learn early in life that you are just an employee good but if you get compliments and respect from your bosses and treat well that's a bonus if you learn NOT to expect more than your employed for their should not be a problem or grudges you will go far if you just do your job well and keep your own council and be professional through life if good comes your way then wow if not take care of your personal affairs money etc best advice to give to the young you won't go far wrong

  • @karensnowden962
    @karensnowden962 Місяць тому +5

    He was loyal 2 hinself and his own privileged life. Abused his position. He got what he deserved

  • @msbossvlog1528
    @msbossvlog1528 Місяць тому +27

    The Queen mother was a wicked woman. She obviously need him to pour her drinks.

    • @melianna999
      @melianna999 Місяць тому +2

      hehe

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +4

      She was a fabulous lady just from a very different time she didn't suffer fools

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому +3

      @@simongarthwaite7695 Yeah, because she was so wise and wonderful. Apart from some favorable photo-ops during the second world war, what did she contribute to the world? How is the world - or any single person, for that matter - better because she lived? She was a self-indulgent old drunk.

    • @simongarthwaite7695
      @simongarthwaite7695 Місяць тому +1

      @FigaroHey nonsense Britain would not of got through the war without its Royal Family.

  • @roadstar92220
    @roadstar92220 16 днів тому

    He should have written & sold a book. He could have exposed it all.

  • @leightonolsson4846
    @leightonolsson4846 Місяць тому

    Staff, always an afterthought...
    Still 😂 great euphemism of a nickname

  • @Patrick3183
    @Patrick3183 Місяць тому +13

    The real England.

  • @zherin2063
    @zherin2063 3 дні тому

    Rita's awesome! I know why he liked her.

  • @darlenedunn6774
    @darlenedunn6774 24 дні тому

    Wow, so Downton Abbey wasn’t too far off on the way they lived in the staff that lived downstairs😊

  • @sharonvincent1427
    @sharonvincent1427 Місяць тому +1

    There’s a lot more that have come off a lot worse off doing their duties for the Royals and the Aristocracy. Billy lead a very happy life, doing pretty much exactly what he wanted. I don’t feel sorry for him at all. He liked a drink, he liked it enough to ignore health warnings. His choice. As the old saying goes, “I’m here for a good time, not a long time” . Not everyone wants to live until they’re falling to pieces.

  • @user-yr7ct4pu3u
    @user-yr7ct4pu3u 21 день тому

    I love queen of hearts Queen Diana❤

  • @jacquelinearcher1158
    @jacquelinearcher1158 Місяць тому +4

    This has shades of Mrs Brown in it…….

  • @dressydress9726
    @dressydress9726 Місяць тому +3

    Of course someone was influential in his acquired attachment to alcohol.

  • @kaashee
    @kaashee 9 днів тому +1

    silly man. thinking he was invincible. trusting other people like that. Never ever trust your employer. A bully who died a lonely death. God save us.

  • @ashleybellofsydney
    @ashleybellofsydney Місяць тому +29

    Why was the young man who William took home such a big deal? Why is it anyone's business who Billy entertains?

    • @tracyhodgkins7516
      @tracyhodgkins7516 Місяць тому +1

      Because the world has changed, at least to a point. Even now if a royal servant did anything that could be argued as having any hint of scandal about it, the media would be all over it like a rash, meanwhile the media would pretend to be oh so tolerant. It all comes down to what sells newspapers at the end of the day, and any slight hint of royal scandal, even if it doesn’t really exist, does sell newspapers.

    • @JGJGAGSG
      @JGJGAGSG Місяць тому

      Keep going with your virtue signaling. No one gives a shit

    • @58christiansful
      @58christiansful Місяць тому +8

      Because it was a Royal Household. For reasons of security. Everyone had to be carefully vetted.

    • @markmark1osufan35
      @markmark1osufan35 Місяць тому +11

      Because he was AN AUTHORITY FIGURE, who was in a POSITION OF POWER. He apparently/allegedly took advantage of young men by getting them drunk and doing God knows what to them. He was a loathsome individual. Sabotaging someone else’s work, just for fun, is reprehensible. The Queen Mother was also reprehensible for not stopping it (as the one man told her what he was doing). I wonder what he had on her? Blackmail?

    • @dionlindsay2
      @dionlindsay2 Місяць тому +2

      Because the press loves to make contrasts for easy headlines. The prim and proper Royal Household v seedy and shady goings on. Whoopee!

  • @geniawheddon7402
    @geniawheddon7402 Місяць тому +1

    The Queen was MUCH LOVED ...she behaved ao well during rhe War

    • @FigaroHey
      @FigaroHey Місяць тому +4

      Just proves how long you can go on being a complete waste of human skin if you take the precaution of making ONE good impression at JUST the right moment. What ELSE did she do besides 'behaving well during the war' that made her life worth anything? Seriously? An old lush who spent money like there was no tomorrow and allowed the abuse of her staff under her very nose. No concern for anyone, obviously, apart from her own pleasures and comfort.

    • @alfredwilliams3176
      @alfredwilliams3176 21 день тому

      She WAS NOT loved in the east end where she was rudely sent on her mink lined way...fact