At the age of 82, Lord Robert Fellowes, a man that Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana trusted, passed away.
Being the uncle of Prince William and Prince Harry, he had a close relationship with the British Royal Family. Fellowers was wed to Lady Jane Spencer, the sister of the late Princess Diana. Together, the couple gave birth to three children: Laura, Eleanor, and Alexander.
During the 1990s—a time of great difficulties, including Princess Diana’s divorce from then-Prince Charles—Lord Fellowes was the late Queen’s private secretary. It was also the period that Princess Anne’s marriage to Mark Phillips ended and Fergie and Prince Andrew’s marriage ended.
He played a significant role in handling the situation following the 1992 fire that damaged 115 rooms at Windsor Castle.
After Princess Diana and her partner Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, her driver Henri Paul, and her bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones crashed the Mercedes in the Pont de I’Alma tunnel in Paris while attempting to flee the paparazzi, Princess Diana tragically died in the car crash, and Lord Fellowes took over the role.
Following Diana Dodi Fayed’s passing, Mohamed Al Fayed—Dodi’s father and the owner of Harrods—made accusations that Fellowes was involved in a plot to kill the couple, which Lord Fellowes vehemently denied.
“Robert, my incredibly amazing brother-in-law, is no longer with us.”
“A true gentleman in every sense of the term, he was a guy of wisdom, humour, and unwavering integrity. Being his brother-in-law makes me really proud.
For thirty years, Sir William “Billy” Fellowes, the father of Lord Fellowes, was the land agent at the Sandringham Estate of the Royal Family. Interestingly, Lord Fellowes was born there as well. The Times quotes the late queen Elizabeth as saying, “Robert is the only one of my private secretaries I have held in my arms.”