Gardener gagged From the Queen's Press Secretary Sir: You commented
in list week's Notebook on the decision which prevented the retired head gardener at Sandringham from capitalising on his years of service with the Queen by publishing his memoirs (provisionally entitled 'Royal Gardener').
The reasons for requiring the Queen's personal employees to sign an undertaking which prevents them from writing about their em- ployment are pretty obvious. Not only has past experience shown some such means of protecting the Queen's privacy to be neces- sary, but the enforcement of the ruling is an obvious discourage- ment to those who might other- wise seek employment with the sole object of future gain from literary endeavours. It would be most invidious to discriminate between categories of employees and at present all Po- sonal employees are required to sign such an undertaking This does not, I need hardly say. include Prime Ministers, but I should he very interested to know the names of `senior courtiers, secretaries an/ advisers' for whom you suggest different rule applies from :NI which binds others of the staff. If you are not able to spell) the names of those in the abot category who are supposed to haw written books in the present reigll I hope you will withdraw at otta your wholly unjustified suggeshoe that the rule is allowed to fal unfairly only on less sow' members of the Royal Household W. 11sele
Buckingham Palace
Reference to this letter is madthis week's Notebook.--E404
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