Shea got on well with the Queen, remembering her gesturing him to her couch and saying, "Come and sit here, I am glad you are going to join us". Michael Sinclair MacAuslan Shea was born in Lanarkshire, the son of a marine engineer and a teacher. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. Michael learns that the media are reporting on the sour relations between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street due to increasing tensions amongst the Commonwealth and South Africa. In January 1981, shortly before the couple's engagement was announced in February, the frenzy surrounding the couple became extraordinary. No member of the royal family can move out of Sandringham without a posse of pressmen surrounding them. Shea resigned after a scandalous story broke about P.M. Margaret Thatcher's and Queen Elizabeth II's relationship. A major controversy erupted when the Sunday Times, under the headline "Queen dismay at uncaring Thatcher", claimed that the Queen disapproved of Thatcher's approach to the miners' strike, the Commonwealth and other issues. The Sunday Times published a piece alleging that the social policies pursued by the Thatcher government were causing the Queen "dismay;" that the Queen disapproved of Thatcher's handling of the coal miners' strike; and that Thatcher's negative attitude to the Commonwealth of Nations caused the Queen "displeasure.". Shea was assumed to be the source of the comments, which were extremely damaging to the Queen and to the monarchy, which traditionally avoids any public interference in politics. Shea's initiative, however, came to nothing: there was no meeting of minds between the monarch and the media, and the pursuit of royal scoops went on unabated. Michael Shea was born in Carluke, Lanarkshire, grandson of an Irish-American from Boston and a woman from Orkney. Liz Cantrell is the assistant to the Editor in Chief of Town & Country, covering arts and culture, and has previously written for Esquire. But did it happen? Every season of The Crown has depicted a number of press scandals for the British royal household, from allegations The Crown shows the Queen’s press secretary trapped in a fight between Her Majesty and the PM, which ends in his ousting. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Too much was given away about private lives.". Netflix may not be far off because, in real life, Michael Shea was blamed for the leak. A hunt for a Palace "mole" ensued. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Another alleged indiscretion cost Shea his job. As press officer he succeeded Commander Richard Colville, whose reputation for lack of communication had earned him the nickname of the "Abominable No-Man". Early life. In the series, Michael Shea is compelled to take blame for comments made by the Queen. In a statement, Shea said, ''The Queen has become increasingly angry about this, to put it bluntly—this trip has been far worse than any other. While in the post he dealt efficiently with dramas such as the exposure of Anthony Blunt, one-time Surveyor of the King's Pictures, as a Soviet spy. His resulting departure from Buckingham Palace was in one sense a pity for him, in that he had dealt professionally with a number of major public issues between 1978 and 1987. He delivered a scathing judgement on the press: "Editors and journalists select their victim kings, garland them, fete them and put them upon their pedestals. He very quickly had to deal with major scandals, including the 1979 exposure of Sir Anthony Blunt —the royal family's longtime art curator— as a former Soviet spy. ... Shea did leave his role at Buckingham Palace … Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. ... Shea did leave his role at Buckingham Palace a few months later. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. He resigned in 1987. He dealt with the press during the courtship But how accurate was his story on the Netflix series? Tall and blonde with an aristocratic bearing, Princess Michael even looks like a royal — and, indeed, her ancestry bears that out. Michael Shea, diplomat and press secretary to the Queen: born Carluke, Lanarkshire 10 May 1938; married 1968 Mona Stensen (two daughters); died 17 October 2009. While in West Germany, he wrote several political thrillers under the pseudonym Michael Sinclair. Mar 13, 2020 - Download this stock image: LtoR centre, Michael Shea, Buckingham Palace press secretary, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Washington DC, United States of America - 2AT3048 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Later, it emerged that the queen’s press secretary, Michael Shea, was the source, and members of parliament called for his resignation. A teenage interest in the SNP did not endure. In November of 1981, Shea invited editors to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen, who requested that the press quiet down on their incessant coverage of the family, and especially the young princess, who had just announced her pregnancy. The Palace publicly stood by Shea, but his days were numbered. But in another sense his removal could be viewed as his good fortune, since no press officer could have effectively coped with the deluge of negative royal publicity as one annus horribilis was followed by another. Although such events caused a stir in their day, they were dwarfed by the avalanche of bad publicity for the House of Windsor in the years that followed. The Queen's Private Secretary, William Heseltine, responded to the controversy in a brusque letter to The Times, writing that it was ''preposterous to suggest that any member of the Queen’s household—even supposing that he or she knew what Her Majesty’s opinions on government policy might be (and the press secretary certainly does not) would reveal them to the press.”. He left Buckingham Palace the following year. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. On a "babymoon" in the Bahamas with Charles in February 1982, paparazzi took photos of Diana, then five months pregnant, in a bikini. Shea was also in charge of Buckingham Palace's dealings with the media during the courtship and wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. But he afterwards regretted giving so much increased media access, reflecting: "There was a period where there were too many revealing in-depth interviews going on. He left Buckingham Palace … The Queen's press secretary, Michael Shea—who had served as press spokesman for the Queen from 1978 to 1987 and seen the Windsor family through some of the greatest crises in that decade— was believed to be the Times's source. Adviser Martin and Michael recommend to the Queen to vocalise her support for Prime Minister Thatcher. In Bonn he wrote, under the name of Michael Sinclair, his first thriller. ", Shea was essentially forced out of royal service after a major press scandal in July 1986. Though he was typically friendly, Shea became forceful with reporters when they followed the Queen on her annual holiday trip to Sandringham, in the hopes of finding out if Diana had come along as a guest of Charles. But, by that stage, due to the Thatcher episode, Shea was no longer in the thick of things. After a decent interval he moved on, taking with him an honour but not the knighthood which might have been expected to come his way. He was employed during the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, Michael Fagan's infamous break-in into Buckingham Palace, the wedding of Princess Diana … Later, it emerged that the queen’s press secretary, Michael Shea, was the source, and members of parliament called for his resignation. Shea was also in charge of Buckingham Palace's dealings with the media during the courtship and wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In 1981, newspaper and television editors were invited to the Palace by Shea, who asked them to ease off on the relentless pursuit of Diana by reporters and photographers. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. A man named Michael Fagan broke into Queen Elizabeth's bedroom in Buckingham Palace, as depicted in 'The Crown' Season 4. In fact, Sir Michael Heseltine, the Queen’s private secretary, had a letter published in the Times accusing Michael of being the “Buckingham palace mole,” basically confirming that he (Michael Shea) had met with a … Michael Shea, diplomat and press secretary to the Queen: born Carluke, Lanarkshire 10 May 1938; married 1968 Mona Stensen (two daughters); died 17 October 2009. It sold well and was translated into a number of languages. Michael Sinclair MacAuslan Shea, CVO (10 May 1938 – 17 October 2009) was Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1978 to 1987. Queen Elizabeth's Bentley is Up for Auction, How the Royals Celebrated the Queen's Birthday. By Harry Mount 20 November 2020 • 12:00pm For the last two decades he proved to himself that there was life after royal employ, assuming numerous roles in Scottish public life and becoming prominent in the higher reaches of Edinburgh society. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Michael Shea: Press secretary to the Queen in the late Seventies and, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Shea became the Queen's press secretary in 1978. On leaving university he joined the Foreign Office, which, noticing that his PhD thesis was on economic development in West Africa, sent him to Ghana. Here's … He was also on hand for the 1982 security crisis sparked when an unemployed man, Michael Fagan, shinnied up a Palace drainpipe and, entering the Queen's bedroom, chatted with her for ten minutes before staff arrived. His diplomatic career later took him to West Germany, Romania and New York. Netflix may not be far off because, in real life, Michael Shea was blamed for the leak. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. In one of his books, on handling the media, he described himself as "a quasi spin doctor". In fact, Sir Michael Heseltine, the Queen’s private secretary, had a letter published in the Times accusing Michael of being the “Buckingham palace mole,” basically confirming that he (Michael Shea) had met with a … He was given the honor of the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, but was notably not given knighthood, which could be expected for someone in as close a position to the Queen as he was. MICHAEL SHEA was the subject of one of the latest episodes of The Crown. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images) According to Shea’s 2009 obituary in the Independent : “The Palace publicly stood by Shea, but his days were numbered. The Queen's request clearly did not work. Shea denied ever leaking the queen’s opinions. ", Trump Names Stephanie Grisham as Press Secretary. He also met a Norwegian diplomat, Mona Stensen, and married her after what he described as "one of those love-at-first-sight affairs, a whirlwind engagement". Shea had a reputation for being charming and chatty with journalists, establishing a more friendly rapport than previous secretaries. At the time, Buckingham Palace denied the report. The media circus only intensified leading up to Charles and Diana's July wedding that same year. He was educated first at his mother's school and then at Gordonstoun; later in life he would become a governor of the school. Shea himself was regarded as the soul of discretion, though there were a few exceptions to this. Michael Shea was the Queen’s press secretary from 1978 to 1987. They were then ushered in for drinks with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. But Mr. Neil disputed several elements of “The Crown’s” retelling, not least that Buckingham Palace made the queen’s press secretary, Michael Shea, the scapegoat for the incident. The fourth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 15 November 2020.. Olivia Colman stars as Elizabeth, with main cast members Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter, Josh O'Connor, Marion Bailey, Erin Doherty and Emerald Fennell all reprising their roles from the third season. Michael Shea did better than most for nearly a decade, but even this most urbane of men left under the suspicion that he had eventually been outwitted by a newspaper. Any press officer would have drowned in that deluge. But Heseltine did confirm it was Shea who had spoken to a Times reporter and Shea himself admitted the conversation had occurred, although he denied the specifics and said his statements were misrepresented. Despite their … As Diana became "the princess of sales" for both national and international media, with the press and public developing an insatiable appetite for news about her, he and the Queen tried in vain to impose some limits on coverage. His career prior to joining Buckingham Palace was one of … One came years later when, in a rare example of providing a private insight, he wrote: "I only once saw the Queen very angry with one of her offspring.
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