The Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 21 October 2010 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fiona Sara Charkham 26 May 1956 London, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Ian Shackleton |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Benenden School Exeter University |
| Occupation | Solicitor |
Fiona Sara Shackleton, Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, LVO (née Charkham; born 26 May 1956[1]) is an English solicitor and Conservative politician, who has represented members of the British royal family and celebrities, including Sir Paul McCartney, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales), and Princess Haya bint Hussein. Her charm and resoluteness earned her the nickname "Steel Magnolia".[2]
Born Fiona Sara Charkham in London, she is the daughter of Jonathan Charkham, an economist and adviser to The Bank of England, and Moira Elizabeth Frances Salmon, daughter of Barnett Alfred and Molly Salmon.[3] Her maternal grandfather, Alfred Salmon, was chairman of the J. Lyons & Co. cornerhouse empire.[4] Through the Salmon family, Shackleton is a cousin to Nigella and Dominic Lawson, and George Monbiot.[5]
Shackleton was educated at Benenden School in Kent. She attended Exeter University, graduating with a third class degree in law. Shackleton then trained as a cordon bleu chef, and became an executive caterer for boardrooms before training to be a solicitor. In July 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter in the form of an LL.D.
On 21 December 2010, the Queen created Shackleton a life peer as Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, of Belgravia in the City of Westminster.[6] She sits as a Conservative in the House of Lords.[7]
Shackleton supported the research by the University of Exeter examining compatibility and the ten key aspects of a successful relationship (named the Shackleton Project). The research was published in July 2018.[8]
Shackleton qualified as a solicitor in 1980, and by 1986 she had become a partner at Farrer and Co, the firm of solicitors employed by the British royal family. In the same year Shackleton and other international family lawyers, including Jane Simpson and Raymond Tooth, co-founded the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an invitation-only organisation which now consists of over 500 of the world's leading family lawyers. Her first high-profile case was that of the Duke and Duchess of York.
Shackleton joined Payne Hicks Beach in 2001 as a partner. Shackleton is reputed to have fallen out of royal favour in the aftermath of the Paul Burrell affair and the suggestions of a cover-up over allegations of a homosexual rape within the royal household put Shackleton, in her own words, "under pressure for a solution to be reached more speedily than I was able to achieve". She was criticised in the Peat Report on the proceedings.[2][9]
In the 2006 New Year Honours, she was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO)[10] and remains solicitor for the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.[11]
In March 2012, one of Shackleton's former clients filed a negligence claim against her for incorrect advice on a child support case. The former client states that due to this erroneous advice he lost out on more than £260,000. Shackleton charged over £95,000 in fees for the advice.[12] The case was subsequently dropped and the client paid his own costs.[13]
Shackleton's high-profile cases include:
Shackleton is married to Ian Ridgeway Shackleton, who runs a business called The Chatham Archive & Document Storage Company,[24] and who is related to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. The couple have two daughters.[25]
