Mark Roland Shand was a British travel writer and conservationist, as well as the brother of Queen Camilla.
19 Facts About Mark Shand
1.
2.
Mark Shand was the chairman of Elephant Family, a wildlife foundation, which he co-founded in 2002.
3.
Mark Shand was born on 28 June 1951, as the son of Major Bruce Mark Shand and his wife, Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and Sonia Rosemary Keppel, daughter of Alice Keppel.
4.
Mark Shand was the brother of Camilla Parker-Bowles and Annabel Elliot.
5.
Mark Shand was educated first at St Ronan's School in Kent and then Milton Abbey School in Dorset.
6.
Mark Shand was expelled from Milton Abbey for allegedly smoking cannabis.
7.
Mark Shand later returned to London and worked as a porter at Sotheby's, subsequently, he and his friend Harry Fane, the son of the 15th Earl of Westmorland, started a business of selling Cartier jewellery for a while.
8.
In 1990, Mark Shand married Clio Goldsmith, a French former actress, daughter of Edward Goldsmith and niece of Sir James Goldsmith, who were all members of the prominent Goldsmith family.
9.
Mark Shand was a godfather to one of the sons of Jemima Goldsmith, his former wife's cousin.
10.
Mark Shand published his first travel book Skulduggery in 1987, based on an expedition to Irian Jaya in Indonesia.
11.
Mark Shand later became the author of Travels on My Elephant, Queen of the Elephants and River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra.
12.
Mark Shand was featured in many documentaries for the BBC and the National Geographic Channel, some related to his writings.
13.
Mark Shand had a deep interest in Hinduism and Indian culture.
14.
Mark Shand was actively involved in the conservation of the Asian elephant and co-founded a charity called Elephant Family in 2002.
15.
Mark Shand was a patron of Anti-Slavery International, a member of the Royal Geographical Society and an honorary Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam.
16.
In 2014, Mark Shand was awarded "the Conservationist of the Year 2014" and received the Fragile Rhino award of The Perfect World Foundation at the Conservation Gala Dinner "Save The Rhino" in Gothenburg, Sweden.
17.
Mark Shand was expected to attend as a guest of honour but unexpectedly died before the event.
18.
On 23 April 2014, Mark Shand was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, after sustaining a serious head injury caused by a fall outside the Rose Bar, of the Gramercy Park Hotel, after lighting a cigarette.
19.
Mark Shand was known as a sporty pupil and captained the cricket and rugby teams during his time at the school from 1959 to 1964.