March 30

Patrick Jephson was the first and only Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to Diana, Princess of Wales. He was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for personal service to the Sovereign. His work for Princess Diana involved daily working contact with British and foreign officials at all levels up to and including head of state. He organised Diana's international visits and journeyed with her all over the world.  Some of these experiences are recalled in his book Portraits of a Princess: Travels with Diana.

He also managed the Princess's relations with a wide range of British institutions including Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Parliament, the City, police and security services, the BBC, ITN, Fleet Street and the film and entertainment industries. In addition he controlled the Princess's links with the voluntary sector and wrote the majority of her speeches, messages, forewords and public correspondence.

He then spent eighteen months as a senior consultant at Lowe Bell Communications before leaving, on Princess Diana's death, to write his account of life in royal service.

His first book Shadows of a Princess (a New York Times bestseller) was reviewed as "the most indelible and authentic portrait of the people's princess." As writer and presenter of TV documentaries, as contributor to current affairs programmes worldwide and as a discriminating writer on royal affairs, he has a unique ability to decode the messages hidden in the official communiqués, in the palace spin - and in the tabloid gossip.