Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, (born 11 December 1941) was Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1990 to 1999, and is also known as a brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales and first cousin of Ronald Ferguson, the father of Sarah, Duchess of York. Fellowes is the son of Scots Guards Major Sir William Fellowes, the Queen's Land Agent at Sandringham, and of his wife Jane Charlotte Ferguson, daughter of Brigadier-General Algernon Francis Holford Ferguson (great-grandfather of Sarah, Duchess of York). The Fellowes of Shotesham are an old country family, related to the Lords De Ramsey
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Walpole, the First Lord of the Treasury (effectively the same as today's Prime Minister) vetoed the plan. Walpole, although a Whig, had alienated Sarah by supporting peace in Europe; she was also suspicious of his financial probity; and Walpole, in turn, mistrusted Sarah. Despite this, good relations with the royal family continued, and Sarah was occasionally invited to court by Queen Caroline, who attempted to cultivate her friendship. The Duchess of Marlborough was a capable business manager, unusual in a period when women were excluded from most things outside the management of their household. Her friend Arthur Maynwaring wrote that