Episode 28: Hugo Vickers
Hugo with June Hutchinson, July 1985.
While some of my podcast guests take a rather circuitous path to find their passion—trying different careers and art forms—others arrive at that knowledge from a young age and single-mindedly push forward with it through the rest of their lives. Hugo Vickers is a writer, historian and broadcaster who discovered his interest in history and the royal family while still at school. Similarly to my last interview subject Shirley Lord, Hugo used this passionate interest to guide early decisions that have allowed him to create his ideal life. He is the author of many books about the royal family, the British aristocracy, Cecil Beaton and other related topics—really a fount of information on a world that has largely disappeared.
Hugo Vickers with Queen Elizabeth II, from an event on April 21, 2016 in Windsor where she unveiled the Windsor Walkway.
Hugo first reached out to me last year when he was finalizing some footnotes for his latest book, Malice in Wonderland, which looks at the diaries he kept during the period (1979-1985) when he was writing Cecil Beaton’s authorized biography. We emailed back and forth about the fashion designer Valentina, as I had worked on the book and exhibition about her, and also about Beaton. Over the last 45 years Vickers has been incredibly prolific as a writer and editor, making him ideal for a conversation about following one’s passions and interests.
Now 69-years-old, Hugo was “born into privilege” in London. Sent off to the best boarding schools, a class trip to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor opened him up to a deep interest in history and the royal family. He became a voracious reader of these subjects, learning everything he could while passionately following each name mentioned to new books and more knowledge. While his father wanted him to go into banking, it quickly became apparent that Hugo lacked both the desire and skills to succeed in that. Instead he took work researching genealogies for guides to the royal family. As he describes in our conversation, he decided to research a famed beauty he had seen mentioned in book as a teenager—according to all reports she had disappeared but Hugo found her living in a geriatric psych ward. Thus began the several year process of interviewing her and researching her life as Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough—his biography of her was published in 1979 to much acclaim. This book led to a request from Cecil Beaton and the adventure he documents in Malice in Wonderland, and then on to books about Garbo, Vivien Leigh, and many members of the royal family. Vickers has approached the writing of history from several different perspectives: he has written straight biographies, genealogies and histories of places; edited the diaries of historic figures; written introductions or forewords to various volumes; and also ghostwritten memoirs.
After quickly establishing himself as an expert on all matters to do with the royal family, Hugo made his first appearance as a royal commentator during Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981. Since then he has become one of the most well-known and highly regarded in the UK. In demand for televised events and documentaries, he brings a deep knowledge and understanding to his commentary. Amongst the many subjects that we discuss are the continuing worldwide interest in the royal family and his thoughts on The Crown. We also discuss at length his work with the Jubilee Walkway Trust and the Outdoor Trust, which creates accessible walkways in honor of the Queen all across the Commonwealth. Weaving together historical information, Vickers helps create guided walks that are not only gifts to the Queen but also deeply informative experiences for the community and tourists.
Splitting his time between London and Wiltshire, Vickers—in my opinion—seems to live a pretty perfect life: one of family, research and writing, where he has the time to truly explore his interests and ideas. His three children even assist him with his work—researching places for walkways, typing up old diary entries. As he says during this conversation, he never plans to retire—just keep on writing till he can no longer—which definitely sounds to me like a sign of a well-lived life.
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A long interview with Hugo on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor:
Hugo Vickers books for your library:
