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
Prince John, the royal station sweeper
I very much enjoyed the recent TV series on Sandringham – but presenter Nigel Havers only scraped the surface in recounting the extraordinary events that took place at the royal family’s Norfolk estate. Did you know that in real life, Prince John whose tragic life...
Book launch at King;s Lynn library
I had a brilliant book launch for The Royal Station Master's Daughters in Love at King's Lynn library yesterday and was overwhelmed by everyone's warmth. Huge thanks to library manager, Mary Grogan, for the fab display of my books, the yummy cakes and gorgeous...
A forbidden royal love story
I’ve written this love story for today’s Daily Express, a forbidden love between the Prince Eddy, the Duke of Clarence, the eldest son of King Edward VII, and Princess Hélène, a Catholic, Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne. They had...