After that, in 1977, he was designated as the Queen’s assistant private secretary. Diana served as an attendant for him, and he married Lady Jane Spencer a year later in 1978.
Upon ascending the ranks at Buckingham Palace, he succeeded Sir William Heseltine as deputy private secretary in 1986 and subsequently assumed the position of private secretary in 1990.
He provided the Queen with assistance during the ‘annus horribilis’ of 1992, which was marked by a series of family
controversies, including those involving the marriages of three of her children, Charles, Anne, and Andrew, shortly after assuming the position.
On November 20, that year, Windsor Castle was significantly damaged by a fire that devastated 115 chambers, including nine state suites.
