Death of Duchess of Cornwall’s brother ruled accidental

The death of the Duchess of Cornwall’s brother Mark Shand, who fell and banged his head outside a New York hotel bar, has been ruled an accident.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office in New York said the death of Mr Shand, 62, was caused by blunt impact head trauma with skull fracture and bleeding in the brain.

Mr Shand was in New York for an auction at Sotheby’s in aid of a charity for underprivileged children and the Elephant Family, of which he was chairman, which aims to save the endangered Asian elephant from extinction in the wild.

He was taken to hospital after reportedly slipping while lighting a cigarette, and hitting his head on the pavement outside an after -party for the charity event.

Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have sent their condolences to the Duchess of Cornwall.

William and Kate, who are coming to the end of their tour of Australia and New Zealand, passed on their sympathies to Camilla who was left “utterly devastated” by her only brother’s death.

Camilla and the Prince of Wales, who are preparing for a high-profile tour of Canada next month, are believed to have received the bad news at their Birkhall home in Scotland.

Tributes poured in for Mr Shand, a conservationist and travel writer who was known for his love of adventure and fondness for glamorous women.

Later in life he was romantically linked to the likes of Bianca Jagger, Jackie Onassis’s sister Lee Radziwill and Jackie’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy.

A spokesman for the Elephant Family described him as a “true force for conservation”, “both a legend and inspiration and above all our great friend”.

Dan Bucknell, head of conservation and campaigns at the charity, said Mr Shand had “infectious enthusiasm” for his work for Asian elephants.

He told the BBC: “He did so much for the charity, he was a very fun-loving, warm-hearted generous guy, who was always very hands-on with all the events that we did and we are going to miss him very sorely.”

Mr Shand had been visiting New York for the finale of the month-long Big Egg Hunt NYC by Faberge, which saw egg sculptures sold to the highest bidder and raised $1.6 million (€1.15m).

Mr Shand wrote numerous books and featured in documentaries, with elephants and India as recurring themes.

The adventurer’s book Queen Of The Elephants won the 1996 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Prix Litteraire d’Amis, and was made into a BBC documentary.

In 1990 he married former French actress Clio Goldsmith. The couple, who split in 2009, have a daughter Ayesha.