The Duchess of Cornwall’s younger brother died last April after attending an event at Sotheby’s in New York, where he was hosting an auction in aid of his beloved charity, Elephant Family, which protects the extinction of endangered Asian elephants.
On what was supposed to be an evening of socialising, drinking and dancing, Mark Shand, 62, collapsed and hit his head outside the Rose Bar, of the Gramercy Park Hotel, before slipping into a coma and dying in hospital nine hours later.
“We were standing outside just talking. He stumbled back and fell straight back. He took one step but then he fell straight down rather than stumbled,” states 29 year old Alexandra Bowes-Lyon, who works for the trust.
Mark Deverell, the pathologist who examined his body, concluded that Mr Shand died as a result of intra-cranial haemorrhage with a skull fracture and blunt trauma.
Sheriff Payne, the Dorset coroner said: “The post-mortem examination showed there were no signs of a heart attack so sadly alcohol plays a prominent part in the outcome.”
Mr Shand was reportedly more than twice the UK drink drive limit.
“It is also significant that he had a very thin skull in parts. What someone else with a normal skull might have survived he did not in this case.”
Some areas of Mr Shand’s skull measured an unusually delicate 1mm thick.
“I therefore record a verdict that Mark Roland Shand’s death was an accident.”
Mr Shand was a passionate conservationist and found his love of elephants during a trip to India in 1988, which he wrote about in his 1992 book, Travels On My Elephant – a documentation of his journey with mammal companion, Tara.
