Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

Intelligence experts Professor Richard Aldrich and Professor Rory Cormac explain how the British secret services grew out of attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria and have continued to draw on close relationships with the aristocracy and the monarchy.

Co-authors Aldrich and Cormac show how early agents operated on a private and informal basis. King George V considered using them to provide intelligence on the army and the broader population in the wake of the Russian Revolution. They describe a turning point in 1936 as British spies feared the Nazi sympathies of the abdicating Edward VII, before George VI restored trust during the Second World War. That has continued into the reign of Elizabeth II during which the monarch has held court with prime ministers and spymasters alike.

Aldrich is professor of international security at the University of Warwick and prize-winning author of several books, including The Hidden Hand and GCHQ. Cormac is professor of international relations specialising in secret intelligence and covert action at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of Disrupt and Deny and co-author, with Aldrich, of The Black Door.