Episode 28 ft. Hugo Vickers

Sighs and Whispers

Hugo Vickers is a writer, historian and broadcaster who discovered his interest in history and the royal family while still at school. He is the author of many books about the royal family, the British aristocracy, Cecil Beaton and other related topics. In his twenties he began researching a famed beauty he had seen mentioned in a 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 Gladys’ life as the Duchess of Marlborough—his biography of her was published in 1979 to much acclaim. This book led to a request from Cecil Beaton to write his biography, followed by books about Garbo, Vivien Leigh, and many members of the royal family. 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. A fount of information on a world that has largely disappeared, he joins host Laura McLaws Helms to discuss how his interests became his career, how he approaches writing and research, the royal family and more. For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://sighswhispers.com/episode-28-hugo-vickers Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Hugo Vickers