Michael Shea (diplomat)
Michael Shea CVO | |
---|---|
Press Secretary to the Sovereign | |
In office 1978–1987 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | James Callaghan Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | Ronald Allison |
Succeeded by | The Lord Janvrin |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Sinclair MacAuslan Shea 10 May 1938 Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
Died | 17 October 2009 Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland | (aged 71)
Spouse |
Mona Grec Stensen (m. 1968) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Gordonstoun School Lenzie Academy |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Occupation | Diplomat, author |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1957–1961 |
Unit | Royal Corps of Signals |
Michael Sinclair MacAuslan Shea,
Early life
Until the age of 14 Shea attended
Royal press secretary
After helping to arrange the Queen's official visit to the United States Bicentennial celebrations in 1976, Shea became her press secretary two years later. He was at the centre of a "mole hunt" in 1986 for the person who gave a briefing to a journalist on The Sunday Times in which it was said that the social policies being followed by the Thatcher government were causing the Queen "dismay",[3] and that Margaret Thatcher's negative attitude to the Commonwealth of Nations caused displeasure.[4] Members of Parliament called for Shea's resignation if he was responsible. The Queen's Private Secretary, Sir William Heseltine, responded to the controversy in a letter to The Times confirming Shea as the contact, but asserting that Shea's comments had been misreported.[5]
Shea left royal service the following year; some sources indicated that he was "dropped" from the role.[6] He continued to deny that there was any connection with the earlier controversy.[3] He was not knighted[7] but was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) in 1985 and Commander (CVO) in 1987.[1]
Other activities
While
After he resigned as the Queen's press secretary, Shea worked for six years at
Michael Shea married Mona Grec Stensen, a native of Norway, in 1968. The couple had two daughters.
His last years were affected by the onset of dementia. He died at age 71 in 2009.
In popular culture
Shea was portrayed by
Partial bibliography
Fiction
- Sonntag (Littlehampton, 1971, ISBN 057500584X) [as by Michael Sinclair]
- Norslag (Littlehampton, 1972, ISBN 0575007540) [as by Michael Sinclair]
- Long Time Sleeping (Littlehampton, 1975, ISBN 0575019441) [as by Michael Sinclair]
- Tomorrow's Men (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982, ISBN 0297781685)
- Spin Doctor (ISBN 000649322X)
- The British Ambassador (HarperCollins, 1997, ISBN 0006493238)
- State of the Nation (HarperCollins, 1997, ISBN 0002254743)
- The Berlin Embassy (HarperCollins, 1999, ISBN 0006498760)
- The Shadows Fall (ISBN 0727854836)
- Spinoff (HarperCollins, 2000, ISBN 0006498779)
- A Cold Conspiracy (Severn House, 2000, ISBN 0727856200)
- Break Point (Severn House, 2001, ISBN 0727857851)
- The Danube Enigma (Severn House, 2001, ISBN 0727857258)
- Endgame (Severn House, 2002, ISBN 0727857177)
Non-fiction
- Influence: How to Make The System Work for You – a handbook for the modern Machiavelli (Ebury, 1988, ISBN 0712623906)
- Personal Impact: Presence, Paralanguage and the Art of Good Communication (Sinclair-Stevenson, 1993, ISBN 1856192571)
- To Lie Abroad: Diplomacy Reviewed (Sinclair-Stevenson, 1996, ISBN 1856192547)
- The Primacy Effect: The Ultimate Guide to Effective Personal Communications (Orion, 1998, ISBN 0752811878)
- A View from the Sidelines (Sutton, 2003, ISBN 0750932457)
References
- ^ a b Dennis Griffiths (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992, London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p.516
- ^ David McKittrick Obituary for Michael Shea in The Independent
- ^ a b "Michael Shea", Daily Telegraph, 19 October 2009
- ^ Stephen Bates Michael Shea Obituary, The Guardian, 21 October 2009
- ^ Obituary for Michael Shea in The Times
- ISBN 978-0750962650.
- ^ Stephen Bates (21 October 2009). "Michael Shea obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ BL reference C1251/21 http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/gR0fld7fWI/WORKS-FILE/11570052/123
- ^ Stephen Bates (21 October 2009). "Michael Shea obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Lewis, Isobel (30 November 2020). "The Crown: Who was Michael Shea?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
Further reading
- Palmer, Dean. The Queen and Mrs Thatcher (2016) excerpt