Philip Ziegler is a British historian who was educated at the University of Oxford before becoming an active member of the British Foreign Service, serving overseas as well as with a delegation to NATO. After concluding his military career, he worked at Collins publishers, becoming editor in chief in 1979, and going on to publish a wide library of histories and biographies. His published works include Duchess of Dino, The Black Death, King William IV, Edward VIII: The Official Biography, and London at War 1939-1945 among many others.