John William Richmond Shakespeare, CMG, LVO (born 11 June 1930) is a British retired diplomat.
From 1935 to 1937 the family lived in Peking, where Major Shakespeare was medical officer to the Legation Garrison.
In 1937 they moved to Hong Kong, where his father was in charge of the British Military Hospital.
[citation needed] From 1943 to 1948 he was at Winchester College in the UK, and from 1949 to 1950 he was a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards.
After a year lecturing in English at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, he joined the editorial staff of the Times Educational Supplement, and in 1956 he became a member of the editorial staff of The Times.