Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore, a renowned British historian, television presenter, and author, was born on June 27, 1965, in London. His father, Stephen Eric Sebag Montefiore, a psychotherapist, was a great-grandson of Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore, a banker, and the nephew and heir of Sir Moses Montefiore, a wealthy philanthropist considered by some as the most important Jew of the 19th century.
Simon's mother, Phyllis April Jaffé, was from the Lithuanian branch of the Jaffe family, whose parents fled the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. They had planned to travel to New York City but were instead dropped off at Cork, Ireland, due to being cheated. Simon's father, Henry Jaffé, left Ireland during the Limerick boycott in 1904 and moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Simon's brother is Hugh Sebag-Montefiore. The Montefiore family has a rich history, tracing back to a line of wealthy Sephardi Jews who were diplomats and bankers across Europe, originating from Morocco and Italy. Some of Simon's ancestors remained secretly Jewish in Spain after the Alhambra Decree was issued in 1492. One of them became the governor of a province in Mexico, where he and his family were denounced by a political rival and tortured by the Inquisition.
A teenage girl was burned alive in Mexico City, while a son escaped to Italy and changed his name to Montefiore. Simon was educated at Ludgrove School and Harrow School, where he was the editor of the school newspaper, The Harrovian. He interviewed Margaret Thatcher for The Harrovian in the autumn of 1983.
Simon won an Exhibition to read history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD).
