Russell Grant

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Russell Grant (born 5 February 1951 in Hillingdon) is a popular English astrologer and media personality. He is frequently quoted in the media, as well as working as a television presenter. He has written several books dealing with matters astrological, among which is his biggest international seller The Illustrated Dream Dictionary. He has had his books translated into languages ranging from Chinese to Afrikaans, over 20 in all.

He is sometimes dubbed the UK's "Astrologer Royal", by analogy with the official position of Astronomer Royal. The title was invented by the media in 1978, when he publicly gave an astrological consultation to the Queen Mother.[1]

His astrology website, in addition to the Western astrology that is his principle practice, also promotes numerology, tarot divination, Vedic astrology (historically related to Western astrology), Chinese astrology (historically unrelated to Western astrology), star naming services (with no indication that the names have no official status), purchase of titles of nobility, and psychic services.

He is the president of the Association of British Counties and the author of a book on British counties, The Real Counties of Britain, notable in that it commissioned Ordnance Survey to produce maps of all the traditional counties of England, Scotland, and Wales.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996 he became the owner of the manorial title Lord of the Manor of Ashford in Middlesex.^{[citation needed]} He has homes in Middlesex and Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, and a 40 acre Victorian estate near Portmeirion, North Wales. He succeeded Sir John Betjeman as Patron of Roots - County Conservation.

He is the founder of the Middlesex Family Foundation which links all the Middlesex named places around the world together. He has his own officially recognised charity WISE (Wales Ireland Scotland England) Communities and works for research into a cure for Alzheimer's and Dementia and sports and creative expression for old and young alike. To this end he has poured much of his money into youth cricket leagues for young people and many other philanthropical and altruistic causes.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, he appeared in the ITV reality show Celebrity Fit Club.

He met his partner Doug at age 20, and as of early 2006, they have been together for 34 years.[2]