James Colthurst | |
---|---|
Born | James Richard Colthurst 7 March 1957 (age 65) Cork, Ireland |
Education | |
Occupation(s) | Radiologist, consultant |
Known for | friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales |
Spouse | Dominique G. Coles |
Children | 2 |
Parent | Sir Richard la Touche Colthurst, 9th Baronet |
Family | Colthurst family |
James Richard Colthurst FRCSE (born 7 March 1957) is an Irish-born British aristocrat, radiologist, and medical business consultant. He worked as a radiologist at London's St Thomas' Hospital and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Colthurst was a close friend to Diana, Princess of Wales and served as a "middle-man" between the princess and the writer Andrew Morton, interviewing her for the 1992 book Diana: Her True Story .
Colthurst was born on 7 March 1957, the second son of Sir Richard la Touche Colthurst, 9th Baronet and Janet Georgina Wilson-Wright, a granddaughter of Sir Almroth Wright. [1] He is a member of the Colthurst family, an Anglo-Irish family who were elevated to the baronetage in Ireland in 1744 by George II. [1] On his mother's side, he is a grandnephew of Sir Charles Theodore Hagberg Wright, who was the Librarian of the London Library. He is the great-grandson of the clergyman Charles Henry Hamilton Wright and a great-great-grandson of Nils Wilhelm Almroth , Governor of the Swedish Royal Mint in Stockholm. [2]
Colthurst grew up at Blarney Castle, the family seat in Blarney, Ireland. [3] [1] He was educated at Eton College and, from 1973 to 1974, he rowed for England Youth International. [1] He graduated from St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London with a bachelor of medicine degree. [1] In 1982, he earned his bachelor of surgery from St Thomas's. In 1992, he obtained a master of business administration degree from Brunel University London. [1]
Colthurst worked as a radiologist at St Thomas' Hospital in London upon finishing medical school there. [1] In 1985, he was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. [1]
He retired from medicine and works as the director of a medical research firm. [4] [5]
Colthurst first met Lady Diana Spencer, then seventeen years old, while on a ski trip in Val Claret. [6] [7] The two had shared mutual friends, both moving in aristocratic circles in London. [6] [3] On the trip, Diana twisted her ankle and Colthurst, then a medical student, examined it for her. [6] [7] The two remained close friends for the remainder of Diana's life. [6] [7]
Diana, upon becoming Princess of Wales, visited Colthurst often, both publicly and privately, while he was working at St Thomas' Hospital. [3] In October 1986, while escorting the princess on an official royal visit to St Thomas' Hospital where she opened a new CT scanner in Colthurst's X-ray department, he met royal journalist Andrew Morton. [6] Colthurst was a "middle-man" between the Princess of Wales and Morton, who wrote a biography on the princess in 1992 titled Diana: Her True Story . [4] Colthurst brought the princess questions from Morton and recorded tapes of her answers to bring back to him. [4] [6] Colthurst said of the experience, "She [Diana] was enormously enthusiastic to have her story out there, she knew exactly what she was doing. I'd cycle in, the recorder was in the briefcase, nothing surprising there. I'd go in and we'd normally have a few questions before lunch, we'd have lunch then we'd come out after lunch, I'd clip the microphone on and she'd finish them off." [4] In 1992, shortly before Diana: Her True Story was published, the princess wrote to Colthurst, saying: "Obviously we are preparing for the volcano to erupt and I do feel better equipped to cope with whatever comes our way! Thank you for your belief in me and for taking the trouble to understand this mind—it's such a relief not to be on my own any more and that it's okay to be me." [6]
He was featured in the 2017 Channel 4 documentary Diana: In Her Own Words . [4] In 2018, Colthurst wrote about the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the Irish Independent , stating that he believed Diana would be "enormously happy" and "extremely proud of her younger son". [4]
Colthurst married Dominique G. Coles in 1990. [7] They have two children: [7]
Colthurst is portrayed by Oliver Chris in the fifth season of The Crown . [6] [7]
Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon, and earned her enduring popularity.
Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. The Blarney Stone is among the machicolations of the castle.
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Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher-Vane, 5th Baronet was an Irish-born British military officer and aristocrat. Francis became the 5th Baronet of Hutton on the death of his first cousin, Sir Henry Ralph Fletcher-Vane, 4th Baronet.
The Colthurst Baronetcy, of Ardrum in the County of Cork, is a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 3 August 1744 for John Colthurst, who later represented Doneraile, Youghal, and Castle Martyr in the Irish House of Commons. The second Baronet was an aspiring politician who was killed in a duel. The third Baronet was a member of the Irish Parliament for Longford and Castle Martyr. The fourth Baronet represented Cork City in the British House of Commons from 1812 to 1829. The fifth Baronet sat as Liberal Member of Parliament for Kinsale between 1863 and 1874. He came into the Blarney Castle estate on the death of his father-in-law. The sixth Baronet served as High Sheriff of County Cork. The seventh Baronet was an Army officer in the First World War and a leading figure in Irish cricket. The eighth Baronet was the High Sheriff of County Dublin. The ninth Baronet lived in London and did not use the title. Since 2003, the title has been held by his son, the tenth Baronet, Charles St John Colthurst, who manages the Blarney estate full-time.
Leonard Colebrook FRS was an English physician and bacteriologist.
Sir Vincent Zachary Cope MD MS FRCS was an English physician, surgeon, author, historian and poet perhaps best known for authoring the book Cope's Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen from 1921 until 1971. The work remains a respected and standard text of general surgery, and new editions continue being published by editors long after his death, the most recent one being the 22nd edition, published in 2010. Cope also wrote widely on the history of medicine and of public dispensaries.
Sir Charles Theodore Hagberg Wright, LL.D. was the Secretary and Librarian of the London Library from 1893 until his death. He managed expansion of the library and compiled a comprehensive catalogue of its collection. The Times called him "the guiding genius" of the library, the driving force behind the four decades of its growth. The Library itself hails Wright as "the real architect of the London Library as it is today".
Charles Henry Hamilton Wright was an Irish Anglican clergyman.
Sir Ian Fraser FRSE PRCSI PBMA DSO OBE LLD (1901–1999) was an Irish surgeon. He served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1954-1956 and was President of the British Medical Association. In the Second World War he was responsible for the implementation of the widespread use of the newly discovered penicillin throughout military hospitals, saving tens of thousands of lives. He was described as "Northern Ireland's best known surgeon".
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Sir Richard la Touche Colthurst, 9th Baronet succeeded as 9th Colthurst Baronetcy in February 1955 following the death of his father Sir Richard St John Jefferyes Colthurst, 8th Baronet.
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