Diana's Dubai

Diana loved the UAE, according to the former private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales. Patrick Jephson, the first and only Chief of Staff to Diana, said she had very fond memories of visiting the UAE as part of a Middle East tour with her then husband Prince Charles.

Speaking exclusively to tabloid! following last week's Public Relations Congress in Dubai, Jephson recalled some of his best and worst moments as Diana's closest employee.

Touching

"She was a truly wonderful woman and human being and would do anything for anyone. Her warmth was felt by everyone she touched and one of the things which really stands out for me was when we arrived in Dubai she headed straight for a school for disabled children."

Charles and Diana visited in 1989 in a bid to promote business and trade between the UK and UAE.

Born and raised in Ireland, Jephson was no stranger to the country and had already been on more than one occasion to deliver a herd of white deer to a Shaikh.

He said: "My father had a farm in Ireland and we had a large herd of rare white fallow deer which the Shaikh was interested in. I flew over here as their handler and personally delivered them. That was in the '80s so you can imagine how much the place has changed."

He added: "Diana loved the UAE and took to the people almost immediately — although that was true wherever we went. She was an incredible woman and had the ability to put everyone at ease in her presence."

Jephson also managed the Princess's relations with a wide range of British institutions including Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Parliament, the City, police and security services, the BBC, ITN, Fleet Street and the film and entertainment industries. In addition, he controlled the Princess's links with the voluntary sector and wrote the majority of her speeches, messages, forewords and public correspondence.

"One of the things I remember about the visit here was when we were invited to a formal reception with His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It rained continuously when we arrived — which the people of Dubai saw as a lucky sign.

They started making tents from plastic sheets. In a bid to keep the rain off the Princess, someone pushed a bubble of water, which had formed above her head, away and it splashed down on the people standing in the gap. She was terribly embarrassed but we all had a good laugh. We didn't have a brolly between us and the Princess didn't even have a jacket — not the thing you need in such a warm spot!"

His first book, Shadows of a Princess, (a New York Times bestseller) was reviewed as "the most indelible and authentic portrait of the people's princess."

Numb

Jephson said: "When I heard the news the Princess had been killed in a car accident, I felt numb. No words can explain how I really felt but now, looking back, the only thing I am sure of is that she will never be replaced. My job was basically to prepare the Princess to be Queen. I believe, with all that I am, that she would have made a wonderful Queen — she possessed many wonderful qualities which made her perfect for the position."

Jephson worked for Princess Diana from 1988 until 1996 when he left amid controversy following the Princess's appearance on television being interviewed by Martin Bashir.

Jephson said: "I just felt the Princess and I were travelling in different directions when it came to how I thought she should conduct herself after the breakup with Charles. I didn't think the interview was the way forward and we naturally allowed our working relationship to come to a halt. I didn't leave under a cloud and look back on my time at the Palace with great fondness."

Jephson is currently working on a variety of publishing and television projects in the UK, USA and Australia.
Jephson and his wife, Mary-Jo Jacobi, a former advisor to American presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush (Senior), were in Dubai as guest speakers at the Public Relations Congress which took place last week.

Did you know?

After 10 years as an officer in the Royal Navy, Patrick Jephson was selected to join the Royal Household, serving for eight years as an equerry (a member of the Royal family's personal attendant) and as the first and only Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to Diana, Princess of Wales. He was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for personal service to the Sovereign.

His work for Princess Diana involved daily contact with British and foreign officials at all levels up to and including head of state.

He organised Diana's international visits and journeyed with her all over the world to destinations including the US, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.