Michael Colborne
MICHAEL Colborne was an aide to Prince Charles for 10 years between 1975 and 1984; he was involved in one of the most notorious stories involving the then Lady Diana Spencer’s travails, even before the marriage began.
Shortly before the wedding a package was delivered to Colborne’s office. He was called away and the soon-to-be-princess opened it. It was a gold bracelet with the initials G&F entwined, a gift from Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles who often referred to each other by their nicknames of Gladys and Fred.
Michael Melville Colborne was born in Dorking, Surrey, to Leslie Colborne, a bank clerk whose father was Surgeon Rear-Admiral William Colborne, MRCS, deputy surgeon-general to the Royal Navy.
The young Colborne was educated at grammar school and worked as a trainee bank clerk before joining the Royal Navy, serving for 23 years. He met Prince Charles when both were serving on the destroyer Norfolk and again at HMS Heron, the Royal Navy Air Station in Somerset.
It was Lord Mountbatten who saw that Colborne would be an ideal assistant for Charles. The prince was always told the truth, a bad speech would be greeted with the words, “That was a bloody disaster, sir.”
Colborne became caught up in the fallout of the Wales’ marriage and while they were engaged he had a chair put in his office for Diana to sit and talk to him.
Colborne put up with many a tongue lashing from his royal master but matters came to a head after Charles shouted at him on a 1983 visit to Canada, accusing him of spending more time on Diana than him. He left the following year.
Colborne went on to work as the chairman of London United Investments Group, and as assistant to the Duke of Westminster.
He is survived by his wife Shirley Brooks and their son Stewart.