Robert Lacey is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of best-selling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as several other works of popular history. He is best known for his work as historian to the Netflix award-winning drama The Crown. Lacey was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge where he studied history.
Early life
Robert grew up in Bristol and got his 11-plus scholarship to Bristol Grammar School. Lacey is an alumnus of Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA in History in 1967, a diploma of education in 1967, and an MA in 1970. He began his writing career as a journalist on the Illustrated London News, and later The Sunday Times.
Career
Lacey's 1981 work The Kingdom, about the Saudi royal family, and its 2009 follow-up Inside the Kingdom have now both been cited as standard study texts for the diplomatic community working inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. David Brancaccio said: "In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of." To research and write the book Lacey took his wife and children to live for two and a half years in Jeddah in the late 70s. Friends he made there included journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Lacey co-wrote his last three articles before he was murdered in 2018. In 2009 Lacey made the controversial documentary Rehab for Terrorists?: Can Terrorists be Rehabilitated with Kindness? for the Now show for the PBS channel. This has led to Lacey being employed by American television networksABC and PBS as a commentator on the subject. Lacey is also ABC's Good Morning America royal commentator and was in London for the channel covering the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He was also seen on the BBC's late evening coverage of the event where he served as a commentator. He remains active in the academic world, giving frequent talks and lectures in London and Cambridge. Lacey is the historical consultant to the Netflix series The Crown. He wrote The Official Companion to The Crown in 2017 and Volume 2 was published on 19 November 2019. Robert Lacey is trustee to Kent Opera, registered charity no. 1050479, which provides training and development of professional and amateur opera singers and educational and community workshops linked to operas.
Family
His first marriage to Alexandra Jane "Sandi" Avrach ended in 2004 in a legal separation after 34 years. They had three children: Sasha, Scarlett and Bruno. In August 2012 Lacey remarried to Lady Jane Rayne, the daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry, and widow of property developer Max Rayne.
