Secrets of the Royal Maid
Hello and a warm welcome to my website where you can learn all about my new books, Secrets of the Royal Maid and The Royal Maid Finds Love.
They are inspired by a real royal maid, Rosa Edwards, from Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, who during WWII saw a position advertised in a shop window for a maid in a big house in London – and it turned out to be Buckingham Palace.
I was thrilled when Penguin commissioned me to write the two books which are under my new pen name, Annie Seymour. Secrets of the Royal Maid will be published on Thursday, 9 April 2026.
– Rosie Goodwin
-Daisy Styles
Find Out More
How I came to write Rosa’s story
Rosa’s daughter, Jan, contacted me out of the blue while I was writing the Royal Station Master’s Daughters’ series. mentioned her family had a special royal story too. As she told me her mother’s story I was instantly hooked – and knew I had to write it.
Merthyr Tydfil and Rosa
Why does a seventeen year old girl leave her home and family behind in Merthyr Tydfil in the 1940s to start a new life in London, and at a time when the city was under constant threat of air attacks, with people constantly being killed?
This part of my story in Secrets of the Royal Maid is true, it really happened.
Cyfarthfa Castle
While Merthyr’s once dominant iron and coal industry have declined, Cyfarthfa Castle retains its prominent prevailing position and is the town’s beating heart. I highly recommend that anyone who visits Merthyr should explore this historic landmark, set in luscious parkland, and features in Secrets of the Royal Maid.
Madeleine Woodfield, Senior Fiction Editor for Penguin
Jan Snaith, Rosa’s daughter
Latest News and Articles
My Blog
The Royal Station Master’s House for Sale
The turreted Royal Station Master’s House in Wolferton that features prominently in my book, The Royal Station Master’s Daughters, is up for sale! It is situated on the Sandringham estate with the royal family as neighbours, and the grandeur of the property shows the...
Shackleton, Scott and the Royal Sandringham Connection
The discovery of Endurance in its watery grave after more than 100 years would have held a special interest for the royals and Sandringham House too. For while Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship didn't survive his perilous expedition to the Antarctic in 1909, he and his men...
Wolferton Station – a Royal Favourite
With visitors to the Sandringham expected to soar this year to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, I highly recommend they take a slight detour and drive down the pretty country road that leads to Wolferton Royal Station, the only one of its kind in the country, and...