Michael Cole (born 1943) is a former

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

journalist and

royal correspondent Royal correspondent is the designation often assigned to a journalist who specialises in reporting on the goings on of royalty. Examples from the United Kingdom include Jennie Bond and Nicholas Witchell, both of the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC ...

. After leaving the BBC, he worked as director of public affairs for

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

, and thus also as a spokesman for its owner

Mohamed Al Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

Journalism

Cole began his career in newspapers, before moving to television. After a period with the local news programme for Anglia Television, he worked on the BBC's ''Look East'' from the beginning of 1969. In 1973, he was one of the three correspondents sent by the BBC to cover the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

from the Israeli side, his first assignment after becoming permanently based in London following brief periods in Northern Ireland. The reforms brought about by former BBC Director General Hugh Greene benefited news coverage, according to Cole, but were accompanied by the heavy drug use of some BBC departments. Cole covered

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

's career following her election as

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

leader in 1975, told her on camera that

Airey Neave Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war ...

had been assassinated in 1979, and was on hand at the rescue of

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (born 29 March 1931) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trad ...

after the Brighton's Grand Hotel was bombed by the IRA in 1984. Cole inadvertently revealed to a press correspondent's lunch some of the 1987 Queen's Christmas message, apparently her reference to the

Enniskillen bombing The Remembrance Day bombing (also known as the Enniskillen bombing or Poppy Day massacre) took place on 8 November 1987 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster- ...

on Remembrance Day. According to Cole, he immediately told his employer what had happened, and found the "Cole the Mole" headlines which followed inappropriate. Cole's friend and fellow Royal reporter James Whitaker, later stated that Cole had spoken only in general terms and did not convey anything which was secret. Although the BBC apologised to the Queen for the lapse, Cole was not sacked, and was shifted to a media and arts remit, remaining with the corporation for another ten months.

Later career

Cole first met

while working on a BBC programme about the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and Duchess of Windsor, ''The Uncrowned Jewels'' in 1987. He joined

after leaving the BBC in 1988, telling journalist Nick Cohen days after the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

that he loved Al Fayed like a father, although he was a victim of bugging because his boss did not trust many of his employees. He stepped down in 1998 to take early retirement at the age of 55, but continued to work for Al Fayed. In 2008, Cole gave evidence to the inquest into the deaths in 1997 of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed, Mohamed Al Fayed's son. In 2012, he jointly delivered, with

Vernon Bogdanor Vernon Bernard Bogdanor (; born 16 July 1943) is a British political scientist and historian, research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's College London and professor of politics at the New College of the Hu ...

, a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association lecture, ''The Crown and the Commonwealth: An emblem of dominion or a symbol of free and voluntary association?'' at

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, part of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. He is the chair of Michael Cole & Company, his own public relations and broadcasting company. He has also written a column for the

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

, and appeared in 1999 as a panellist on the BBC's satirical quiz, '' Have I Got News for You''.

References

External links

Michael Cole & Company
*
Prince Andrew's Wedding
BBC History * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Michael 1943 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) English journalists BBC newsreaders and journalists English public relations people House of Fraser Royal correspondents