Veteran royal reporter James Whitaker dies aged 71 after battle against cancer

By TANYA THOMPSON
Published on Thursday 16 February 2012 01:35

JAMES Whitaker, the veteran royal reporter, has died at the age of 71 after battling cancer.

The Fleet Street stalwart, who was the royal editor of the Daily Mirror for many years, was also known as a broadcaster and commentator.

Mirror editor Richard Wallace led tributes following Whitaker’s death yesterday morning.

He said: “James was a true Fleet Street legend who became famous around the world as a royal reporter.”

Among his many scoops over the years was the revelation that Diana, Princess of Wales, was suffering from an eating disorder.

Whitaker, known for his plummy voice, also worked for a number of other Fleet Street titles but he was best-known for his lengthy stint at the Mirror, where he broke his most memorable stories. Unafraid of ruffling feathers, he recalled in an interview that he took “a level of abuse” over his story about Diana’s eating disorder. “There was, of course, absolute furore about this. Well, of course, I couldn’t say that it had actually come from Diana’s own sister,” he said.

Whitaker was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer around 12 months ago and had a number of operations to remove tumours as well as chemotherapy. But the Cheltenham-born reporter’s health had been failing since the weekend.

Whitaker’s son, Thomas, said the family had been touched by the messages of tribute which included a personal phone call from the Duchess of York.