NICOLA Sturgeon is facing anger from her political opponents after taking aim at Prince William – and saying the late Queen Elizabeth loved “gossip” – in her new memoir.
Frankly, the former first minister’s book, was made available in Waterstones on Monday ahead of an official August 14 release date. The press have since been sifting through the pages looking for headlines – with Sturgeon’s interactions with the royals often taking centre stage.
In the memoir, Sturgeon recounts her meetings with Elizabeth, saying that the “private time I spent with the Queen ranks as one of the great privileges of my life”.
The former first minister goes on to write of the late monarch: “She also loved a bit of gossip. She always wanted to hear the stories behind the political headlines.
“I recall my audience with her at Balmoral just a couple of weeks after the allegations about Alex Salmond had become public. I had assumed she wouldn’t mention it, but was worried that it might then be an elephant in the room. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“She asked me about it almost as soon as I sat down. She wasn’t being trivial in any way, but it was clear that she wanted to know more of what was going on.”
Elsewhere, Sturgeon described what she says was the only time she ever felt “slightly aggrieved towards a senior royal”, in this instance Prince William.
The former first minister recalled meeting William in 2021 and having a cordial conversation, but added: “We didn’t talk about politics at all.”
However, she then went on: “A couple of days later, it was revealed by Channel 4 News that he’d had a private meeting with Gordon Brown at Holyrood Palace …
“The fact that the meeting had been unpublicised and had taken place in the wake of Gordon setting up the anti-independence think tank, Our Scottish Future, inevitably raised questions.
The revelations about private conversations with the royals have sparked anger in some quarters.
The Express reported Joe Little, managing editor at Majesty Magazine, attacking the former SNP leader under the headline: “Nicola Sturgeon 'crossed the line' by revealing private conversations with late Queen Elizabeth.”
"Nicola Sturgeon is the latest in a growing line of trusted ministers – David Cameron and Boris Johnson among the more recent – to reveal observations made by Queen Elizabeth II during an off-the-record conversation,” Little said.
"There is a line that one should not cross, regardless of whether the monarch is living or deceased, but clearly the temptation to defy convention can be overwhelming if the indiscretion draws attention to one's agenda."
Former Labour MP Tom Harris, now a Telegraph columnist, noted that the Scottish ministerial code says that ministers should not disclose details from private meetings, “including those with the monarch”.
“Not that many people will care, but three pages of descriptions of private conversations with the Queen is … ill-advised. Literally,” Harris wrote.
Not that many people will care, but three pages of descriptions of private conversations with the Queen is. . . ill-advised. Literally. https://t.co/tbijx1QdOv pic.twitter.com/ZFRYXLI5ms
— Tom Harris 🇬🇧 (@MrTCHarris) August 12, 2025
Alba depute leader Neale Hanvey also attacked Sturgeon. Sharing a story about her saying the Queen wanted “gossip” on Alex Salmond, he said: “Is there no bottom to her barrel?”
Hanvey added: “I’m an avowed republican, but the etiquette around private conversations with the queen have only been broken by David Cameron and now her. What a club.”
Alt-right channel GB News has also broadcast multiple segments about Sturgeon’s writings on the royals. In one, former Tory MP Anna Firth claimed the revelations in her book are “particularly gruesome”.
In a second, commentator Andrew Pierce described Sturgeon as a “self-serving woman” and suggested the memoir would put up to “£500,000 in the bank, very nicely”.
