Just found this review of the book from Goodreads:
This is a shockingly intimate view of Charles and Diana's marriage, told by Wendy Berry, the housekeeper of their country residence. Berry comes across as intelligent and sensible, and her anecdotes ring true. The book was published in 1995, before Diana's death, and subsequent tell-alls have confirmed the impressions given here.
Berry observed Charles and Diana at home, during the decline of their marriage, which was relatively untroubled when she was hired. From the couple's separate sleeping arrangements to their different ways of dealing with servants, Berry doesn't slant her observations. She has a bit of servant snobbery, disdaining the Christmas ornaments at Highgrove as "naff and ordinary", and passing judgment on Sarah Ferguson's baggy cotton underwear and cheap luggage.
Berry offers interesting tidbits, such as Charles still sleeps with his childhood teddy bear on his bed. He was unconcerned when his new dog peed on his bed: as Berry went to change the bedding, Charles told her to leave it and just give it a wipe! And belying Diana's picture of him as a distant, uncaring father, Berry describes him as doting and close to his sons. One of the saddest parts was when Diana would keep the boys from their father, telling Charles the boys would be eating in bed with her, while watching TV. She did this even on William's last night at home before boarding school. In another incident she kept the children for dinner in bed, and the next morning she took them away for breakfast in her bed too. Charles was very upset at being shut out like this, and tried to talk to Diana about it but she wouldn't. It's terrible to realize how Diana was repeating her own upbringing, where she was kept from her mother by her father.
Berry described how the couple dealt with their staff: "The sweet, kind-hearted, compassionate Diana is just part of a much more complicated whole. The part the public do not see is sometimes far removed from the 'Princess Act' and none too pleasant. And because she was so riddled with insecurities and inadequacies it made her a very mercurial person to deal with. Quite frankly, one never really knew where one stood with her, or how she was going to react unlike Charles, who, though extremely up and down in terms of temper tantrums, was generally straight and fair with his employees. However, when he did want changes nothing could dissuade him, and he could be intransigent and ruthless. As long as he got his own way everything ran smoothly, but nobody could honestly say that he is an easy man to live with."
Charles was more formal, though friendly. He was also more even keel (though who isn't, after all the stories we've heard about Diana.) If Charles had a childish tantrum when something didn't go as planned, he would later be embarrassed and apologize. Diana ran the gamut, from "sweet and caring" to "sarcastic and spiteful". She would treat her closest servants terribly, refusing to speak to them, or screaming at them and calling them names. One February a servant said Diana hadn't spoken to her since Christmas and she didn't know why. "Who does, half the time?" said Paul Burrell, Diana's butler and confidante.
Unlike Charles, Diana ran through servants, as no one could take the abuse for long. The children's nannies were a problem for Diana, as she needed them, yet resented their closeness to her children. One nanny was so regimented that she didn't like Diana appearing without warning, so of course she was given the sack. But later nannies who were more fun-loving were also a threat to Diana, and were let go, despite the children's attachment.
I expected Camilla to be a presence in this book, but she barely appears. Aside from a couple of lunch parties, and afternoon visits to Charles when he badly broke his arm, she wasn't at Highgrove at this time. Berry notes the evenings when Charles seems to be slipping away to see her, but there weren't as many of those as expected. Diana's affair with James Hewitt took place at Highgrove, but he was in the military so was often away. Diana's concern for him and his safety was clear to the staff.
Berry described Diana as fascinated with her own publicity. There is a terrible sense of foreboding when she describes how Diana encouraged the press to be obsessed with her. She would covertly alert the media to where she would be, then publicly claim to be "upset" about the photos. She looked through the newspapers with the servants, preening with pleasure at the flattering shots of herself and screaming with horror at the unflattering ones. She taunted Charles about how the public really preferred to see her, and she was correct. Her teasing game with the media worked to her advantage and garnered her attention and admiration, but look where it led. Remember, the book was published prior to Diana's death.
Obviously Ms. Berry took copious and detailed notes during her years working for the Wales's. More detailed about Charles and Diana than one would expect an average housekeeper to write down about her rich employers. It seems like Berry always intended to write this book. Berry graduated at a high level, and had been an English teacher, making me suspicious of her intent in taking a low paying housekeeping job. At one point Charles learns of her education level and expresses surprise that she would want the housekeeping job. He should have been more skeptical! (I'll bet he is now.) Berry claims she only decided to publish her detailed diary after seeing Princess Diana's slanted version of the story, via Andrew Morton's book. (When Berry published, the general belief was still that Diana's friends had given Morton the lowdown. It wasn't yet acknowledged the Diana herself was the source of Morton's book.) Diana's Andrew Morton revelations were really press releases, positioned and cleverly timed to move public opinion in her direction before the couple's separation. At least this author has no axe to grind, and though she betrayed the Wales's trust in publishing, she seems to have told the truth as she observed it.