In 1967, he resigned from the Foreign Service, and joined the publishers
Collins, which was, at the time, run by his father-in-law.[2] Originally intending to be a novelist, he began a career as biographer with his life of
Talleyrand's lover, the
Duchess of Dino. He was editor in chief at Collins from 1979 to 1980.[2] He was chosen as official biographer of Edward VIII, for which he was appointed CVO. Ziegler wrote for various journals and newspapers, including The Spectator, The Listener, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and History Today.[3]
Personal life and death
In 1967, gunmen broke into Ziegler's family home in
Bogotá and shot dead his wife, Sarah Collins. Ziegler was wounded in the attack.[2] Ziegler married social worker Mary Clare Charrington in 1971; she died in 2017.[2] Ziegler died from cancer on 22 February 2023, at the age of 93.[4]