Born on Valentines Day, 1940 in Chicago, Royal Phillips is an alumna of The University of New Mexico. An international childbirth instructor and doula for over 35 years, she has taught and lectured in the United States, the Middle East, Central America, Europe, Indonesia and Australia. She has been the teacher of choice for many movie actors and professional athletes.

Royal has been a contributor to the Santa Barbara News Press and a columnist for The Montecito Journal. Her writing has received several awards, including her screenplay Incommunicado, based on her hostage experience in the 1994 Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico. Her recently published book, Cherry Bombs, A Life in Poetry, is available on Amazon.com.

As an advocate for children, Royal has also created and produced childbirth-specific books, audiotapes, and videos. Her documentary, Prince for a Day, chronicles Indonesian circumcision rituals on the youth of Sumbawa and was presented at the Anti-Genital Mutilation Symposium at University of Sydney, Australia.

She is a mother of three, grandmother of five, and an avid photographer, SCUBA diver, and world traveler having visited over 80 countries. Royal currently resides in the Smoky Mountains.

Photo Taken 1996, Colorado

Left: Pamela Phillips, Right: Royal Phillips