Born in London, Clare McHugh grew up in the United States and graduated from Harvard with a degree in European history. Her own family's history includes the never-to-be-forgotten day in 1905 when her great-grandfather, a coachman in Portsmouth England, drove Vicky’s son Kaiser Wilhelm, and her brother, Edward VII, the King of England. Clare taught high school history before becoming a reporter at The New York Post. She went on to edit magazines, and later served as operations director of Time Inc's News and Lifestyle division. Married to a fellow editor, she now works as consultant to prominent media companies and has two grown children.