# Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes

Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes (11 December 1941 – 29 July 2024) was a British courtier who was private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1990 to 1999. He was the brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a maternal first cousin of Ronald Ferguson, the father of Sarah, Duchess of York.

## Early life

Fellowes was born in Sandringham on 11 December 1941. He was the son of Sir William Albermarle Fellowes (1899–1986), a major in the Scots Guards and land agent of the Sandringham estate, and his wife Jane Charlotte Ferguson (1912–1986). His maternal grandfather, Brigadier-General Algernon Francis Holford Ferguson (1867–1943), was the great-grandfather of Sarah, Duchess of York. His paternal family hail from Shotesham, Norfolk, and are a landed gentry family, a junior branch of the barons de Ramsey.
Fellowes was educated at Eton College. He received a short service commission in the Scots Guards in 1960. Fellowes played cricket for Norfolk in the 1959 Minor Counties Championship, making one appearance each against Buckinghamshire and the Nottinghamshire Second XI.

## Career

After leaving the Guards in 1963, Fellowes entered the banking industry. He worked for Allen Harvey and Ross Ltd, discount brokers and bankers, from 1964 until 1977. He was a managing director from 1968. He was first offered a position in the royal household in 1974, but declined until his firm was in a better financial state.
In 1977, Fellowes joined the royal household as assistant private secretary to the sovereign. He would spend the next twenty years in the Private Secretary's Office. He became deputy in 1986 succeeding Sir William Heseltine as principal private secretary to the sovereign in 1990. Upon his appointment, he was sworn into Her Majesty's Privy Council which entitled him to the prefix The Right Honourable for life. His tenure oversaw Queen Elizabeth II's annus horribilis in 1992 and the death of his sister-in-law, Diana, in 1997.
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. He was created a life peer on 12 July 1999 taking the title Baron Fellowes, of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. He sat as a crossbench peer until his retirement on 10 February 2022.
Lord Fellowes was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat formally on 26 October 1999. Lord Fellowes remained technically a member of the royal household, having been appointed an extra equerry to the Queen following his retirement. He served as secretary and registrar of the Order of Merit from 2003 to 2022.

## Personal life

On 20 April 1978, Fellowes married Lady Jane Spencer, elder sister of Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Guards' Chapel, Wellington Barracks. He was an assistant private secretary to the Queen at the time. Diana (who married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981) was a bridesmaid. Lord Fellowes had three children and five grandchildren:
* The Honourable Laura Jane Fellowes (born 19 July 1980); married Nicholas Peter Pettman on 30 May 2009. They have three children.
* The Honourable Alexander Robert Fellowes (born 23 March 1983); married Alexandra Finlay on 20 September 2013. They have two children.
* The Honourable Eleanor Ruth Fellowes (born 20 August 1985)
Fellowes died in Norfolk on 29 July 2024, at the age of 82. His funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Snettisham on 28 August 2024 and was attended by his nephews, Princes William and Harry.

## In popular culture

Fellowes was portrayed by Dominic Jephcott in The Queen and by Andrew Havill in series 5 and 6 of The Crown.

## Honours

Fellowes was also a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (PC) from 1990, an extra equerry from 1997, and a life peer from 1999.
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) | 31 December 1997 |
| Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) | 31 December 1990 |
| Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) | 31 December 1986 |
| Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) | 15 June 1996 |
| Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) | 17 June 1989 |
| Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) | 11 June 1983 |
| Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | 6 February 1977 |
| Companion of the Queens Service Order (QSO) | 31 December 1998 |

## Arms

Coat of arms of Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes :
* CoronetCoronet of a baron
* CrestA Lion's Head erased Or, murally crowned Argent, charged on the neck with a Fess dancettée Ermine
* EscutcheonAzure, a Fess indented Ermine, between three Lions' Heads erased Or, murally crowned Argent
* OrdersOrder of the Bath (CB 1987; KCB 1991; GCB 1998) Royal Victorian Order (LVO 1983; KCVO 1989; GCVO 1996) Queen's Service Order (QSO 1999)