Penny Junor

Penelope Jane Junor, born on October 6, 1949, in Leatherhead, Surrey, is a distinguished English author and journalist. She was educated at the independent Benenden School in Kent and pursued History at St Andrews University, although she did not complete her degree, choosing instead to get married.

Junor's journalistic career includes working for the Evening Standard and writing a column for Private Eye that lasted for five years. However, she is best known for her books on the British Royal Family. Her first royal biography, "Diana: Princess of Wales," was published in 1982. This was followed by biographies of Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1987 and 1998, and "Charles and Diana: Portrait of a Marriage" in 1991. In 2005, she published "The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor." Junor's work on the Waleses reportedly alienated both of them, an experience she considers the worst of her career. She has also written a biography of Prince William, "Prince William: The Man Who Will Be King," which was published in 2017 and ends with his marriage to Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge.

In addition to her royal biographies, Junor has written about notable figures such as Margaret Thatcher, Richard Burton, John Major, and Pattie Boyd, the former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton. She assisted Sir Cliff Richard in writing the number one best-selling "My Life, My Way" and Shaun Ellis with his book "The Man Who Lives with Wolves." Junor's writing has provided insight into the lives of various public figures, contributing significantly to British biographical literature.