Hugo Ralph Vickers DL (born 12 November 1951) is an English writer and broadcaster.

Early life

The son of Ralph Cecil Vickers, M.C., a stockbroker, senior partner in the firm of Vickers, da Costa, by his marriage in 1950 to Dulcie Metcalf, Vickers was born in Lambeth and educated at Eton in the late 1960s and then at Strasbourg University.''Musicians of the Millennium: A Biographical Guide to Members of the Worshipful Company of Musicians'' (London: Worshipful Company of Musicians, 2000), p. 264: "VICKERS Hugo Ralph b 12 November 1951 s of Ralph Cecil Vickers Educ Eton 1964–69. Strasbourg University , France 1970–71." He has a younger sister, Imogen. His aunt was the politician

Baroness Vickers Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

Career

Writer and broadcaster

Vickers has written many royal biographies, including ones of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark—which was approved by her son,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

—and

Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Gladys Marie Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (''née'' Deacon; 7 February 1881 – 13 October 1977) was a French American aristocrat and socialite. She was the mistress and later the second wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th ...

. Over the course of his career, he has regularly participated in royal occasions, being a studio guest for both the

wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer The wedding of the Prince of Wales (future King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was ...

in 1981 and Diana's funeral in 1997. He commentated on ITN with

John Suchet John Aleck Suchet ( ; born 29 March 1944) is an English author, television news journalist, and presenter of classical music on Classic FM. Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is the actor Sir David Suchet. Early life Suchet was born in Lon ...

in 1999 for the

wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie Rhys-Jones The wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones took place on 19 June 1999 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II's youngest child, Prince Edward, was created Earl of Wessex hours before the ceremony. Background and eng ...

, for the Queen Mother's centenary celebrations in 2000, and for her funeral two years later. He frequently appeared on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

's former programme, ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'', and has also appeared on Fox News Channel,

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, and television programmes in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Theatrical work

In September 2001, Vickers wrote a Victorian Evening where he performed alongside

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

, in the presence of

the Earl ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and Countess of Wessex. A year later in 2002, he compiled an evening of poetry, prose and music—called ''The Queen Mother's Century''; in 2005 he devised a programme of ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', interviewing

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

who portrayed

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

; he wrote an anthology of readings and music called ''The Queen's Childhood'' in September 2006. Once again, Vickers appeared on ''Desert Island Discs'' in 2007. In September of that year, he wrote (and designed the set and selected the music on its first showing) his first one-man show, entitled ''A Lonely Poet'', which featured Charles Duff. This show was later renamed ''The Immortal Dropout''. He is a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

Other activities

Vickers was appointed chairman of the Jubilee Walkway Trust in October 2002, which had been founded in 1977 as a lasting memory of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, and later refurbished and updated to commemorate her Golden Jubilee. Being in this role, he welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and her consort,

, to the Mall to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Queen's coronation in 2003, and again on 19 November 2007, when the royal couple unveiled the Diamond Wedding panoramic panel in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

. He is also the Chairman of the Outdoor Trust which puts Walkways into Commonwealth countries. Vickers is one of the Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire.

Personal life

In September 1995, Vickers married Elizabeth Vickers, the daughter of his father's first cousin Michael Vickers.Hugo Vickers, "D. Michael Vickers" in ''The Ampleforth Journal''
Autumn 2007
pp. 95–96 They have two sons, Arthur and George, and a daughter, Alice.

Major publications

*''We Want The Queen'' (Debrett's Peerage, 1977) *''Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979) *''The Debrett's Book of the Royal Wedding'' (Debrett's, 1981) *''Cecil Beaton: the Authorized Biography'' (1985) *''Vivien Leigh: A Biography'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1988) *''Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece'' *''Loving Garbo: The Story of Greta Garbo, Cecil Beaton and Mercedes de Acosta'' (Penguin Random House, 1994; Pimlico, 1995) *''Royal Orders: Honours and the Honoured'' (Pan Macmillan, 1994, ) *''The Kiss: the story of an obsession'' (1996) *''Elizabeth, the Queen Mother'' (Hutchinson, 2005) *''Alexis: the Memoirs of the Baron de Rede'' (The Dovecote Press, 2005) *

Frances Campbell-Preston Dame Frances Olivia Campbell-Preston (; 2 September 1918 – 22 November 2022) was a British courtier and author who served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1965 to 2002.James Pope-Hennessy James Pope Hennessy CVO (20 November 1916 – 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer. Early life Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope ...

, ''The Quest for Queen Mary'' (2018 edition, editor) *''The Crown: Truth and Fiction: an Analysis of the Netflix Series THE CROWN'' (Zuleika Short Books, 2017) * ''The Crown Dissected'' (Zuleika, 2019) *''Malice in Wonderland: My Adventures in the World of Cecil Beaton'' (2021)

Other publications

* Introduction to ''The Pursuit of Love'' by

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London ...

(London: The Folio Society, 1991) *Introduction to ''The Unexpurgated Beaton'' by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

(Phoenix, 2003) *Introduction to ''Beaton in the Sixties: More Unexpurgated Diaries'' (Phoenix, 2004)

References

External sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Hugo 1951 births Living people People educated at Eton College English biographers Writers from London Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire English journalists 20th-century biographers 21st-century biographers University of Strasbourg alumni