| The Right Honourable The Lord Fellowes GCB GCVO QSO PC |
|
|---|---|
| Private Secretary to the Sovereign | |
| In office 1990–1999 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | The Rt. Hon. Sir William Heseltine |
| Succeeded by | The Rt. Hon. Sir Robin Janvrin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 December 1941 England |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Jane Spencer |
| Alma mater | Eton College |
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, GCB, GCVO, QSO, PC (born 11 December 1941) is a former Private Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1990–1999, and is also known as a brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales.
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Fellowes is the son of Scots Guards Major Sir William (Billy) Fellowes, the Queen's Land Agent at Sandringham, and of his wife Jane Ferguson, daughter of Brigadier-General AFH Ferguson (great-grandfather of Sarah, Duchess of York). The Fellowes of Shotesham are an old country family, related to the Lords De Ramsey (senior branch). According to Michael Rhodes (a British genealogist specializing in the British aristocracy and landed gentry), "Lord De Ramsey descends from one Coulson Fellowes (1696-1769), and Lady Jane's husband, Lord Fellowes, descends from Coulson's younger brother, William, of Shotesham Park, Norfolk." Julian Fellowes, author of Gosford Park, is a distant cousin.
Robert Fellowes married Lady Jane Spencer, elder sister of Diana Princess of Wales on 20 April 1978 at Westminster Abbey, when he was an Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen. The then-Lady Diana Spencer was a bridesmaid. They have three children, Laura Jane Fellowes, 19 July 1980, Alexander Robert Fellowes, 23 March 1983 and Eleanor Ruth Fellowes, 20 August 1985.
As well as being brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales, he is also first cousin once removed of Sarah, Duchess of York through his mother, Jane.
Fellowes played cricket for Norfolk in the 1959 Minor Counties Championship,[1] making one appearance each against Buckinghamshire and the Nottinghamshire Second XI.[2] Fellowes was educated at Eton College and joined the Scots Guards in 1960 on a short service commission. After completion of service in 1963 he entered the banking industry, working for Allen Harvey and Ross Ltd, discount brokers and bankers, 1964–77. He was a managing director from 1968.
In 1977 Fellowes was recruited to join the Royal Household as Assistant Private Secretary. He spent the next 20 years in the Private Secretary's Office, becoming Deputy in 1986, and Private Secretary in 1990 to have earned relatively little, although this was offset by his grace and favour housing and other perks.
Fellowes left his position in February 1999 to return to private banking, his retirement having been announced implicitly on 1 June 1998 when his successor Robin Janvrin was named. Later that year, he was given a life peerage, as Baron Fellowes, of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk[3] in the Queen's Birthday Honours List on 12 June 1999,[4] having been knighted as Sir Robert Fellowes in 1989.
Lord Fellowes was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat formally on 26 October 1999. According to reports from the House of Lords, Lord Fellowes remains technically a member of the Royal Household.[5]
Robin Janvrin (portrayed by Roger Allam) was a leading character in the 2006 film The Queen, although at the time of the film's storyline, which took place in 1997, Fellowes was still the monarch's private secretary.
After retirement from the Royal Household, Lord Fellowes became Vice-Chairman, and then Chairman, of Barclays Private Banking. He is also a company director, and a trustee of the Rhodes Trust, the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Commonwealth Institute. He became Chair of the Prison Reform Trust in 2001. He is also the President of Degremont UK following an approach by Jean Nassau (former Prince of Luxembourg).
Besides his Life Peerage, Lord Fellowes received the following honours:
He was made a Privy Counsellor (PC) in 1990.
He remained Secretary and Registrar of the Order of Merit, as of 10 June 2005 when Baroness Boothroyd, a former Speaker of the House of Commons, was invested with the Order of Merit.
1. (The hon.) Laura Jane Fellowes b. 19 July 1980.
2. (The hon.) Alexander Robert Fellowes b. 23 March 1983, now a fourth year Classicist at Trinity College, Oxford, was educated at Eton College like his father, maternal uncle and his royal cousins. He is President of the Claret Club, an Old Etonian Society. He made news recently when his role in a Bullingdon Club drunken brawl was revealed December 2006 and revived March 2007 in a story about Conservative leader David Cameron.[6]
3. (The hon.) Eleanor Ruth Fellowes b. 20 Aug 1985.
Notes
1. Lord and Lady Fellowes live in west Norfolk. The family had to move from their grace and favour house in Kensington Palace when Lord Fellowes left Royal service.
| Court offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir William Heseltine |
Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1990–1999 |
Succeeded by Lord Janvrin |