Heartbreaking for Harry and William as their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes dies at 82: The late Queen’s trusted private secretary helped the monarch through turbulent times and the death of his sister-in-law Diana

Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary, Lord Robert Fellowes, brother-in-law of Princess Diana and uncle of Princes Harry and William, has died at the age of 82.

The British courtier was the late monarch’s chief adviser between 1990 and 1999 during the divorces of three of her children and the death of Diana.

He helped the Queen through what she called her “annus horribilis” in 1992, when Charles was at war with Diana, Andrew separated from Sarah, Anne divorced, Windsor Castle went up in flames and public opinion turned against the royals.

Lord Fellowes was also forced to deny bizarre claims by Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed that he was involved in a conspiracy to murder his son Dodi and Diana.

In 1978, he married Lady Jane Spencer, Diana’s elder sister, and they had three children: Alexander, Eleanor and Laura, Princess Charlotte’s godmother.

In later life, he remained an additional equerry to Elizabeth II until her death in September 2022 and was portrayed by actor Andrew Havill in the Netflix series The Crown.

He died on July 29 from unknown causes. No funeral plans have been announced.

Lord Fellows at the High Court in February 2008 to give evidence at the Princess Diana inquiry

Queen Elizabeth II and Lord Fellowes aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Florida in May 1991

Lord Fellowes was played by actor Andrew Havill (centre) in the Netflix series The Crown

Lord Fellowes had three children – Alexander (left, on his wedding day to Alexandra Finlay in 2013), Laura and Eleanor (both right, at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor in 2018)

Lord Fellowes was born at Sandringham in 1941 to Sir William ‘Billy’ Fellowes, the estate’s manager from 1936 to 1964, who went hunting with King George VI.

His mother Jane Fellowes was the daughter of Brigadier-General Algernon Ferguson, Sheriff of Northamptonshire and great-grandfather of Sarah, Duchess of York.

According to an obituary in The times One of the first people to meet him after his birth was the then Princess Elizabeth. She later said: ‘Robert is the only one of my private secretaries that I have held in my arms.’

He attended Eton College, where he was known as the ‘walking Wisden’ for his impressive cricket knowledge, but he never went to university.

Instead, he was drafted into the Scots Guards and served in the army for three years, from 1960 to 1963, before moving to the City to work for discount brokers Allen, Harvey and Ross.

Lord Fellowes married Lady Jane Spencer in 1978 at the Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London. To Lady Fellowes’ right is her sister, who later became Princess Diana.

Lord Fellowes with the King, then Prince Charles, at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey in 1993

Lord Fellowes with Lady Jane Fellowes (right) and their daughter Laura Jane Fellowes (left) at the wedding of William Duckworth-Chad and Lucy Greenwell in Sudbourne, Suffolk, in 2011

The wedding of Lord Fellowes and Diana’s sister Lady Jane Spencer in London in 1978

In 1977 he became Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen and a year later, in 1978, he married Lady Jane Spencer. Diana was a bridesmaid at their wedding.

He rose to the rank of civil servant at Buckingham Palace, becoming Deputy Private Secretary in 1986. In 1990 he succeeded Sir William Heseltine as Private Secretary.

Shortly after taking on the role, he helped the Queen through the ‘annus horribilis’ of 1992, which saw her deal with a series of family scandals, including marital problems with three of her children: Charles, Anne and Andrew.

On 20 November of that year, a fire caused extensive damage to Windsor Castle, destroying 115 rooms, including nine state apartments.

In an address to more than 500 VIP guests at a luncheon at the Corporation of London Guildhall on 24 November 1992 to mark her 40th anniversary on the throne, Elizabeth II said: ‘1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with unmitigated pleasure.

Lord Robert Fellowes was the son of the estate manager of Sandringham

Lord Fellowes (top left) with Princess Diana and her family in 1995. Seated (left): Diana, Lady Sarah McCorquodale (sister), Frances Shand Kydd (mother) and Jane Fellowes (sister). Standing (left): Lord Fellowes, Charles, Earl Spencer (brother) and Neil McCorquodale

‘In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has become an ‘Annus Horribilis’. I suspect I am not alone in thinking so.’

The Queen’s use of the Latin phrase ‘annus horribilis’, meaning ‘terrible year’, was a pun on the more commonly used phrase ‘annus mirabilis’, meaning ‘year of miracles’.

When Diana died in 1997, the Queen was at Balmoral at the time of her death and was criticised for not travelling to London earlier.

Lord Fellowes would have found this criticism unjustified, but eventually decided that a change of course was necessary and hastened her return to London.

He also wrote the first draft of her widely praised address to the nation, in which she referred to herself as “your queen, and as a grandmother.”

Lord Fellowes was the late monarch’s chief adviser between 1990 and 1999

Lord Fellowes is pictured (back right) at the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981

Lord Fellowes and Lady Jane Fellowes arrive at the High Court in 2008 for the Diana inquest

In 1999 he handed over to his deputy Sir Robin Janvrin and moved back to the City to become chairman of Barclays Private Bank.

Lord Fellowes was also appointed to the House of Lords after leaving the Royal Family. He also worked as a private adviser and chaired the Prison Reform Trust.

Speaking to the Daily telegram In 2008 he said: ‘My life has been spent in a pretty gilded cage. Eton, Guards, the Royal Family and later Barclays.

“It was a culture shock to end up in prison, but it was also very beneficial.”

Lord Fellowes said of his sister-in-law Diana’s work: ‘She was very good at it: she was an extraordinary communicator and had a great sense for the underdog.

“It never became patronizing. She picked the areas where she thought she could make a difference, and by and large she did.”

Prince Harry with Lady Jane Fellowes and uncle Earl Spencer at the unveiling of a statue of his mother Diana in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in London in July 2021

Prince William greets Lady Jane Fellowes at the unveiling of the Diana statue in London in July 2021

Prince Harry attends the wedding of Lord Fellowes’ son Alexander Fellowes to Alexandra Finlay at St Mary Undercroft Chapel in Parliament House in September 2013

Prince Harry (centre) with Eleanor Fellowes (left) and Alexander Fellowes (right), children of Lord Fellowes, at the wedding of Charles Viscount Althorp to Victoria Lockwood in 1989

And in an interview with The times In 2003 he explained why he sat in the House of Lords.

Lord Fellowes said: ‘In my previous life I had to be apolitical, and that became a habit. It is difficult for someone who has worked in the monarch’s private office to take a party whip.

“And it suits my character to be a troublemaker, although my friends probably see me as a scary pinko.”

Lord Robert Fellowes was born on 11 December 1941 and died on 29 July 2024