This story is wild! Some background: Sir Ranulph Fiennes is an 82-year-old man and a former explorer. He was the first man to visit both the North and South Poles. He’s one of those legendary British men known for being adventurers and hellraisers. Well, Fiennes is also well-connected within the aristocracy and British royalty. He was quite friendly with then-Prince Charles over the years. But Sir Ranulph has not been seen publicly in a few years and there are fears that he’s being controlled by his second wife, whom he married in 2005. Apparently, King Charles tried to use back channels to get in touch with his friend, only to be told off (secondhand) by Sir Ranulph’s wife.
The King tried to check on Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s wellbeing but was blocked from doing so by the explorer’s wife, The Telegraph has learnt. His Majesty, a friend of Sir Ranulph for decades, was alerted to his declining health and isolation by another adventurer, and was “most concerned” by what he was told, one of his staff said at the time.
The King’s equerry contacted the person who had written the letter to ask how the King could get in touch with Sir Ranulph, and was given a phone number for Louise Millington-Cotes, his wife and legal guardian. The friend who passed on her number to the Palace thought Sir Ranulph would be “thrilled” to know that the King cared so much about him.
But Ms Millington-Cotes was angry that the Palace had been given her details, and threatened the intermediary with a solicitor and the police, claiming they were causing her husband “immense distress” and telling them to “back off”.
It is understood that Ms Millington-Cotes declined to put the King in touch with her husband. She told friends that the King hated her husband and that Queen Camilla had helicopters fly over their property to annoy them, it is alleged.
Sir Ranulph, 82, has not been seen in public for two years. Ms Millington-Cotes, 59, was granted lasting power of attorney over him in November 2024, and placed him in a succession of care homes under an assumed name. At first, friends were allowed to see him if they signed non-disclosure agreements, but since the start of this year she has not told any of his family or friends where he is.
On Feb 12 last year, Anton Bowring, who took part in the Transglobe Expedition, of which the King was patron, with Sir Ranulph between 1979 and 1982, wrote to Sir Clive Alderton, the King’s private secretary, to inform His Majesty that his friend was “in a very poor state” and had been under the care of his wife since the previous September.
He added: “Very little information about him is forthcoming, and his many friends are concerned about him. More than that I cannot say, but I just thought that His Majesty would like to know.”
Later the same month, on Feb 24, the King’s then equerry, Cdr William Thornton, contacted Mr Bowring. Mr Bowring told The Telegraph: “He said the King was most concerned and would really like to write to Ran, Louise and their daughter Elizabeth to express his concern and see if there was anything he could do to help. He asked how he could communicate that to Ran, and asked if I had Louise’s phone number. He said ‘I can give her a ring and if it’s a no we can let the matter drop’.”
About an hour later, Mr Bowring received a text from Ms Millington-Cotes saying: “I’m going to be changing my phone number because of you!!! There is nothing further that we need you to help with. Thank you.”
Mr Bowring apologised, saying: “I really thought that Ran would be thrilled to know that the King cared about him … the Palace will be completely discreet and not trouble you again if you don’t want them to. They were being kind and thoughtful … I am deeply saddened.”
Ms Millington-Cotes replied: “I’m contacting a solicitor and the police if you continue this! That was utterly inappropriate! You haven’t listened to anything I’ve explained to you about Ran’s feelings about his condition. You are causing him immense distress! Nobody else is??? Back off!!!”
Mr Bowring responded that “I don’t think there’s anything that a solicitor or the police could do about a close friend caring for his chum. All I want is to do my best for Ran. I wanted to help you. Sadly I’ve failed and a door has closed. Your anger is nothing compared to my sadness”. Ms Millington-Cotes did not reply.
The Telegraph went on to describe the profound concerns of many of Fiennes’ old friends, many of whom believe that Louise is (at best) keeping her husband extremely isolated from old friends and at worst, this is all a clear case of elder abuse. It’s also possible that Louise is not well – after the Bowrings tried to contact Louise, she apparently told the couple that King Charles “hated Ran, and that Queen Camilla had helicopters flying over their home in an effort to intimidate them, so it was unlikely that any message from the King would get a good reception.” Oh. Yikes. While I believe in many conspiracies involving Charles and Camilla, they’re not sending helicopters over Sir Ran’s house. This poor man! And it’s bonkers that Sir Ran’s friends have gotten Buckingham Palace involved as well.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- North America Rights Only – London, UK -20220704- World Premiere Of at BFI Southbank. -PICTURED: Sir Ranulph Fiennes -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing Featuring: Sir Ranulph Fiennes Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 04 Jul 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com **North America Rights Only**
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Yikes. I hope someone can intervene — this is definitely not a healthy situation for Sir Ran.
It has all the hallmarks of elder abuse.
She’s sitting on a pot of money and draining it, obviously she doesn’t want anyone important enough to trigger an investigation.
Given that its her own son who’s leading the charge in challenging her says it all really – the Office of the Public Guardian need to step in and do their job.
If you read this article with the stepson about his mother its heartbreaking – she’s piece of work. She’s clearly freaking out about all the attention in the media this has generated and yeah whatever wealth he had is likely now gone.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/27/fiennes-stepson-climb-over-fence-to-see-him/
I cannot read that article, it’s behind a paywall.
Anyway, yeah someone needs to step in before it’s too late.
@AlpineWitch – an excerpt where he talks about why he and his mother are estranged.
“The rupture came because he was offered a job in Sweden, working for the European Space Agency. It was a dream for the budding astronaut, and he expected his mother to be thrilled. She was not.
“She blocked my phone, and wouldn’t reply to messages [on Facebook],” he said. He also claims that she “isolated” him on the farm, encouraging workers not to speak to him.
“I knew at that point my mum obviously wasn’t giving me love,” he said.
The final break followed shortly afterwards. Mr Millington-Cotes returned to the farm to find his favourite horse missing. He confronted his mother about it. “I burst into tears in the yard. She had no remorse, no empathy. I went back to the car to gather my thoughts. As I was sitting there, she came up to the window: ‘Can I have the gate key back?’”
She got rid of his horse because he did something she didn’t like. He also talks about the tempestus relationship his mother and Ran had – overall she comes across like a control freak.
AlpineWitch, removepaywall.com is a site where you can paste in a link and access many paywalled pieces. I have best luck with the “option 2” tab at the top.
I know it’s wrong but it’s also just a wee bit funny. She sounds so irate. And unhinged, all at once. If the King of England can’t even spring an old friend from a care home, OMG, and, in a lesser key, LOL.
She sounds completely unhinged!
His stepson (this wife’s son who is currently estranged from his mother) has launched a crowdfunded to try and raise funds for legal support to track him down and establish contact with him. If I remember the story I read in the Guardian at one point Sir Ranulphs sister checked into one of his nursing homes for a week to get to see him. His wife is not acting ethically and I’m glad this is getting more coverage.
She’s probably terrified to be found out and lose her Power of Attorney.
If found guilty of abusing her position she’ll lose it, hence why she’s trying to keep people away from her husband.
King Charles getting involved with this means a huge deal of trouble for her.
She’s illegally been putting him in care homes under false names and keeps moving him around. Apparently if he goes outside he has to wear a hat, sunglasses and gloves so he’s not recognised.
From the Spectator article below:
“His Welsh care home raised concerns, and the inspectorate noted no authorisation under the deprivation of liberty safeguards had been obtained by his wife. Fiennes, it said, ‘is under continuous supervision and control, is not free to leave, and is not able to consent to care, treatment and accommodation.’
https://spectator.com/article/ranulph-fiennes-and-the-perils-of-depriving-liberty/
Its a clear case that she is abusing her position as his power of attorney.
I’d venture to say he’s a prisoner of hers now. He cannot even be visited by friends without her permission.
I’m sorry, but shouldn’t this raise some red flags with the care homes themselves and their staffs? Aren’t they requesting his medical record history? Surely they’re not just complying with these whims.
In the UK there is something called ‘Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)’ that the power of attorney (PoA) has to apply for – the PoA CANNOT give blanket consent to deprive someone of their liberty. My mother was in a care home so I understand some of the legal process.
A DoLS covers:
Protected Rights: They make sure any restriction on a person’s freedom is lawful, safe, and necessary.
Check best interests: Care must be given in the least restrictive way possible.
Provide oversight: They give people a right to challenge restrictions and have a representative.
A DoLS assessment is usually conducted by a Dr and is usually granted for 1 year where its regularly reviewed/renewed. The sad fact is that the PoA can override / ignore any DoLS recommendations which is probably why she didn’t even bother getting one as it would have shone a light on what she’s doing.
Sorry to correct this:
“In the UK there is something called ‘Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)’ that the power of attorney (PoA) has to apply for” – it should be that the care home has to apply for if the care plan they are expect to give is very controlled and takes away patient rights.
As I said it sounds like she stopped this to avoid having her ‘care plan’ exposed for what it is – batsh!t crazy and unlikely not even needed.
It seems that Sir Ranulph Fiennes is in a precarious situation and I hope it’s straighten out for his sake.
Charles checking on a friend instead of tending to his own messy family drama that he created is on brand for him tho.
Your last sentence says it all. SMH
This is going to come off as blaming the victim, but Ran had all his faculties when he married his much younger wife. Men might want to marry someone around their own age just as a general principle.
There’s no guarantee in a marriage of similarly aged people that one spouse won’t lose their mind and abuse the other at some point, but marrying someone two-plus decades younger does raise the possibility that the younger spouse is marrying for something other than true love.
There’s a lot of truth to what you say.
A friend of mine, who was a retired nurse (RN) who spent many years working in skilled care nursing homes (back when they weren’t PE run nightmares) saw this happen with her father. He remarried in his late 70’s. Years later when he was having some health issues, was recovering from something, he asked my friend if he could stay with her while he recovered. She had to tell him, “Dad, I can’t … I can’t check you out of this rehab, I can’t take you home, she’s your wife, you have to make decisions with her, not me. I don’t have any legal standing here no matter how much I’d be willing to care for you.”
The rest of her siblings were hands off, her father was being cared for okay (not abused) but not with the level of care my friend thought he should have, but she knew the wife was doing things as she wanted and wasn’t going to allow much interference (and friend didn’t have money to fight a legal battle even if she wanted to). The Wife was the person the guy had chosen to share his life with. He had some years of joy with a younger woman as his partner, and how things played out in his 90’s was part of what he chose.
They all imagine they’ll be Tony Randall, when they mostly end up like this guy.
Honestly if I was friends with the king and I knew a friend was being abused and held prisoner, I’d 100% call on any connections I had.
Right? Charles could actually try to do something useful.
When I read about this, I thought it was a terribly eerie ending for such an inquisitive spirit and great explorer; isolation can be so lonely at this stage of human life. At least once, Chuckles used his name for good.
I be met sir Ran twice and both times he was so nice. Possibly the nicest person I’ve met. Very different to how he is on tv when he seems uncomfortable with attention. Very modest and extremely friendly.
I just think it’s strange that Charles shows more concern for his friend than he does his own family members. He could have used his influence to the press to back off Harry and Meghan.
It’s gross. And Elizabeth, who was far more respected than KFC is, absolutely could have shut some of it down and chose not to.
If I were the wife, I would be PISSED as hell as well. You NEVER, EVER distribute people’s private contact details without their permission. Different situation, but I keep my phone number private. Very few people have it. If I received a call from a total stranger who claimed to have received it from one of those few people I would absolutely cut them off without a backward glance.
And ” the Palace will be completely discreet…” yet for nearly three whole days and possibly more they have made this front page news, with estranged family members, clearly working with people in the palace, working with the media to harass and harangue the man’s wife and close circle into satisfying THEIR curiosity? Whatever made them think that this would make things better? Someone online said that if they had a problem, why did they not deal with the matter privately, through legal channels? I bet if he dies and leaves all his money to his wife these people are going to come crawling out of the woodworks to bleat about being hard done by.
He gave his wife lasting power of attorney for a reason and he clearly knew what he was doing at the time. His daughter is clearly fine with her father’s care, because nothing has been heard from her.
This is not to say that there may not be elder abuse going on, but the pile-on reeks of something else. The man’s health has declined. Some people who used to be known for their physical prowess don’t usually want the world to know when they have suffered a decline, and it may be that she is following his wishes and he does not want to be the focus of pity.
P.S. Ranulph Fiennes is the first “British” man to reach those poles, not the first man.
Well at least one care home had concerns about the care they were being told to give, concerns that led them to refer the case to the independent Care Commission to investigate. They found that he was being deprived of his liberty and ability to make his own choices as she wouldn’t allow the care home to apply for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessment which is a strict legal requirement in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (its also rooted in Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that protects the right to personal liberty). Even though she has lasting Power of Attorney she broke the law and that alone should see her stripped of her PoA. Its about time the Office of the Public Guardian got involved to investigate if there is any abuse of the LPoA going on.
There has been many famous people who spent their last days in a care home and their privacy was respected, often the public not finding out until after they had passed – Sir Richard Attenborough is one that springs to mind. The UK has quite strict laws about patient privacy.
She’s created this drama herself by being paranoid and super controlling – if he is as frail as people think he is being constantly moved around will hasten his condition along.
To add; by stopping the care home following due legal process she created the situation where they had no choice but to refer him to the Care Commission – they were doing what they are supposed to.
Well, I have to admire the second wife’s moxy by hating on Charles and threatening him with the police AND a solicitor. Also, I used to teach about English and Scandinavian explorer efforts to reach the North (South? poles), but I don’t remember this guy’s name at all. I do remember Scott and Amundsen (barely).
It looks like a case of elder abuse by a clinically paranoid person. Social isolation is dangerous. People should look into this.
The wife sounds nuts and it would be great if his daughter could get involved. Unfortunately, she’s only 20 and a child of this current marriage.
Also, the care home noticed that she was giving him medication that she couldn’t prove where she got it from.