Lord Robert Fellowes, the uncle of Prince William and Prince Harry, has died aged 82.
His obituary, published by The Times on Wednesday, revealed he had died on July 29 of undisclosed causes.
Fellowes married the elder sister of the late Princess Diana and Charles Spencer, Lady Jane Spencer, in April 1978.
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Charles Spencer led tributes online.
“My absolutely exceptional brother-in-law, Robert, is no longer with us,” he wrote on X.
“A total gentleman — in all the best meanings of that word — he was a man of humour, wisdom and utter integrity. I’m deeply proud to have been his brother-in-law.”
Born in Sandringham in 1941, his father Sir William “Billy” Fellowes was the estate manager for the royals’ estate in Norfolk.
He went on to attend Eton, the same school later attended by Prince William and Prince Harry.
Fellowes is also known for serving as Queen Elizabeth II’s most senior aide — starting in 1977 as an assistant private secretary before being promoted to her deputy private secretary in 1986 and private secretary from 1990 until 1999.
“Robert is the only one of my private secretaries I have held in my arms,” the late queen once said, per The Times.
He supported the late queen through the death of Princess Diana in 1977 and the divorces of three of her four children.
Fellowes wrote the first draft of the queen’s speech addressing the nation following Diana’s death where she said, “Your Queen, and as a grandmother”.
Following the death of Diana and her then-boyfriend Dodi Fayed, Fellowes denied claims by Fayed’s father, Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed that he was involved in a conspiracy to murder the couple.
In 1999 he returned to private banking and served as chairman of Barclays Private Bank until 2009.
He was granted a peerage in 1999, becoming Baron Fellowes of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk in that year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
In the Netflix series The Crown, Fellowes was portrayed by actor Andrew Havill.
He is survived by his wife, who is godmother to Princess Charlotte, and their three children, Laura, Alexander and Eleanor.