Prince William and Prince Harry’s Uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, has died at age 82. Fellowes was also Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary.
Lord Fellowes Was The Queen’s Most Trusted Advisor
He was the Queen’s most trusted advisor between 1990 to 1999. He was also married to Princess Diana’s older sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, as they were married in April 1978. Diana was a bridesmaid at the wedding.
Lord Fellowes died on July 29th of undisclosed causes. He was a very influential advisor, as he guided the Queen through some of the most challenging years and was especially helpful during what the Queen called “Annus Horribilis” in 1992.
That year, Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced they had separated, Prince Andrew separated from his wife, Sarah Ferguson, and Princess Anne divorced her husband, Captain Mark Phillips.
There was also a fire at Windsor Castle, where several ceilings collapsed. Many rooms were demolished, and priceless art was destroyed.
Fellowes also saw her through the death of Princess Diana. He performed an integral role in directing the royal family’s public response to the Princess’s death.
He also helped write the Queen’s famous speech after Diana’s death, in which she referred to herself as “your Queen and as a grandmother” and called Diana an “exceptional and gifted human being.”
Lord Fellowes remained a close confidant to the Queen until her death in September 2022, and he remained an equerry.
Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, paid tribute to Fellowes,
“My absolutely exceptional brother-in-law, Robert, is no longer with us. A total gentleman in all the best meanings of that word, he was a man of humor, wisdom, and integrity. I’m deeply proud to have been his brother-in-law.”
Harry’s Absence From the Funeral Is Unimaginable
Fellowes was born on December 11th, 1941. One of the first members of the royal family to hold him as a baby was Queen Elizabeth, who was still a princess. Decades later, she remarked, Robert is the only one of my private secretaries I have held in my arms.”
Lord Fellowes studied at Eton College. He played cricket for Norfolk in the 1959 Minor Counties Championship. He joined the Scots Guard in 1960, and once his service ended, he worked in the banking industry.
In 1977, he became the late Queen’s assistant private secretary and was promoted to deputy private secretary in 1986. Once again, in 1990, he became her private secretary after Sir William Heseltine.
After his time as a private secretary, he served as a crossbench life peer, Secretary and Registrar of the Order of Merit, and an Extra Equerry to the Queen.
A good friend of Prince Harry’s spoke about the possibility of Harry coming to the UK for the funeral,
“The death will be a huge blow to the Spencer family. In normal times, it would be unimaginable that Harry would not be there to support Jane. Of course, he would want to be there. It will be a huge gathering of the Spencer clan. But these are not normal times and it may well be that everyone feels Harry’s attendance would just create too much drama. It would be very sad for him if he can’t make it.”
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