Welfare Concerns
Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes returns home following welfare concerns raised by family and friends.
Anonymous
Friends and relatives of 82-year-old explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes have raised concerns about his welfare, saying they were unable to contact or visit him. Reports allege that his wife, Louise Millington-Cotes, moved him between care homes under assumed names, restricted access and arranged for him to be disguised; Care Inspectorate Wales concluded that a Welsh care facility had unlawfully deprived him of his liberty. Fiennes has Parkinson’s disease and other health conditions, and his wife holds lasting power of attorney; his stepson and prominent friends have sought help from police and the Office of the Public Guardian and called for scrutiny of her authority. Police have said they have no immediate safeguarding concerns, and Millington-Cotes has not publicly responded to the allegations. Recent reports say Fiennes has returned to the couple’s isolated Shropshire estate, where he is living in a modular home with a carer; footage has shown him walking with support beside his wife.
Key Points
1
King Charles reportedly tried to contact Fiennes after hearing concerns about his health and isolation, but his wife was said to have blocked the attempt. The king was reportedly left “most concerned.”
2
Fellow explorer Anton Bowring reportedly wrote to the king’s principal private secretary in February, saying Fiennes was “in a very poor state” and that friends were worried.
3
Fiennes’s stepson said his mother had allegedly asked friends and family to sign non-disclosure agreements before visiting Fiennes at a London care home.
4
Michael Kobold, who previously climbed Everest with Fiennes, told the Daily Mail that Millington-Cotes had reportedly explained Fiennes’s wheelchair use by saying he had been in a car accident, and introduced his carer as the horses’ blacksmith.
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