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Mark Roland Shand (28 June 1951 – 23 April 2014) was a British
travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...
and conservationist and the brother of
Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...
. Shand was the author of four
travel books The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...
and as a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
conservationist, appeared in documentaries related to his journeys, most of which centered on the survival of elephants. His book ''Travels on My Elephant'' became a bestseller and won the Travel Writer of the Year Award at the
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...
in 1992. He was the chairman of
Elephant Family Elephant Family is an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. In the last fifty years their population has roughly halved and 90% of their habitat has disappeared. Poaching, a growing skin tra ...
, a wildlife foundation, which he co-founded in 2002.


Family, education and marriage

Shand was born on 28 June 1951, as the son of Major
Bruce Shand Bruce Middleton Hope Shand (22 January 1917 – 11 June 2006) was an officer in the British Army. He is best known as the father of Queen Camilla. Early life Shand was born in London into an upper class family whose ancestors had moved t ...
(1917–2006) and his wife,
Rosalind Cubitt Rosalind Maud Shand (' Cubitt; 11 August 1921 – 14 July 1994) was a British charity worker and aristocrat, daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was the wife of army officer Major Bruce Shand and the mother of Queen Camilla. Chil ...
(1921–1994), daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and
Sonia Rosemary Keppel Sonia Rosemary Cubitt, (''née'' Keppel, previously The Hon. Mrs. Cubitt; 24 May 1900 – 16 August 1986) was a British socialite, author and aristocrat. She was the first wife of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe and through her only daughter R ...
, daughter of
Alice Keppel Alice Frederica Keppel (''née'' Edmonstone; 29 April 1868 – 11 September 1947) was an aristocrat, british society hostess and a long-time mistress of King Edward VII. Keppel grew up at Duntreath Castle, the family seat of the Edmonstone baro ...
. He was the brother of
Camilla, Queen Consort Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...
and
Annabel Elliot Sonia Annabel Elliot ( Shand; born 2 February 1949) is a British interior designer and antiques dealer. She is the mother of British Conservative politician Ben Elliot, who served as the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, and sister of Qu ...
. Shand was educated first at
St Ronan's School Saint Ronan's School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for boys and girls from 3 to 13 years located in Hawkhurst in Kent, England. It currently has about 440 pupils, the majority of them day pupils, although boarding is ava ...
in Kent and then
Milton Abbey School Milton Abbey school is an independent school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonw ...
in Dorset. He was expelled from Milton Abbey for allegedly smoking cannabis. As a result, his father sent him to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to make a living on his own, where he had numerous jobs including working as a jackaroo on a station and a guard at an opal mine. He later returned to London and worked as a porter at
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
, subsequently, he and his friend Harry Fane, the son of the 15th Earl of Westmorland, started a business of selling
Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
jewellery for a while. In 1990, Shand married
Clio Goldsmith Clio Goldsmith (born 16 June 1957) is a French former actress, appearing mostly as a femme fatale in some films of the early 1980s. She is a member of the prominent Goldsmith family through her father ecologist Edward Goldsmith. Goldsmith was m ...
, a French former actress, daughter of
Edward Goldsmith Edward René David Goldsmith (8 November 1928 – 21 August 2009), widely known as Teddy Goldsmith, was an Anglo-French environmentalist, writer and philosopher. He was a member the prominent Goldsmith family. The eldest son of Major Fr ...
and niece of
Sir James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His contr ...
, who were all members of the prominent
Goldsmith family The Goldschmidt family is a family of German Jewish descent, originally from Frankfurt am Main, known for their success in banking. With origins tracing back to the 15th century, most members were forced to leave Frankfurt after the 1614 Fettmilc ...
. They lived in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and had a daughter, Ayesha (born 1995). Shand confirmed in 2010 that the couple were divorced. He was a godfather to one of the sons of
Jemima Goldsmith Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith (born 30 January 1974; known as Jemima Khan for work) is an English screenwriter, television, film and documentary producer and the founder of Instinct Productions, a television production company. She was formerly a j ...
, his former wife's cousin.


Career

Shand published his first travel book ''Skulduggery'' in 1987, based on an expedition to
Irian Jaya New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. He later became the author of ''Travels on My Elephant'' (1992), ''Queen of the Elephants'' (1996) and ''River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra '' (2003). ''Travels on My Elephant'' became a bestseller and won the Travel Writer of the Year Award at the
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...
in 1992. He was featured in many documentaries for the BBC and the
National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
, some related to his writings. Elephants were featured in many of his writings and other pursuits. An unabashed
Indophile Indomania or Indophilia refer to the special interest that India, Indians and their cultures and traditions have generated across the world, more specifically among the cultures and civilisations of the Indian subcontinent, as well those of t ...
, the majority of his writings and TV features were Indo-Nostalgic. He also had a deep interest in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and Indian culture. As a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
conservationist and travel writer, he authored a book and the corresponding BBC documentary, '' Queen of the Elephants'', based on the life of the first female mahout in recent times —
Parbati Barua Parbati Barua ( as, পাৰ্বতী বৰুৱা) is an Assamese politician, animal conservation activist and a ''Mahout'' (Indian term for an elephant tamer and caretaker), Born as one of nine children to late Prakritish Chandra Barua ...
of Kaziranga. The book went on to win the Prix Litteraire d'Amis award, providing publicity simultaneously to the profession of mahouts, and to Kaziranga. Shand was actively involved in the conservation of the Asian elephant and co-founded a charity called
Elephant Family Elephant Family is an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. In the last fifty years their population has roughly halved and 90% of their habitat has disappeared. Poaching, a growing skin tra ...
in 2002. His book ''Travels on My Elephant'' was about his adventure with "Tara" (his elephant) in India, who was the inspiration for the charity.Mark Shand is the Elephant man
thisislondon.co.uk; accessed 23 April 2014. Shand was also a patron of
Anti-Slavery International Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest interna ...
, a member of the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
and an honorary Chief Wildlife Warden of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. In 2014, Mark Shand was awarded "the Conservationist of the Year 2014" and received the Fragile Rhino award of
The Perfect World Foundation The Perfect World Foundation is a non-governmental organisation that raises awareness and supports efforts to prevent the global ecological crisis. The organization was founded by Ragnhild Jacobsson and Lars Valentin Jacobsson in 2010. The organ ...
at the Conservation Gala Dinner "Save The Rhino" in
Gothenburg, Sweden Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...
. Shand was expected to attend as a guest of honour but unexpectedly died before the event.


Death

On 23 April 2014, it was reported that Shand had been taken to
Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City, after sustaining a serious head injury caused by a fall outside the Rose Bar, of the
Gramercy Park Hotel Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. __FORCETOC__ History Gramercy Park Hote ...
, after lighting a cigarette. Earlier in the evening he had attended a fund-raising auction at Sotheby's in aid of the Elephant Family. Later that same day, it was reported that Shand had died. His nephews
Tom Parker Bowles Thomas Henry Parker Bowles (; born 18 December 1974) is a British food writer and food critic. Parker Bowles is the author of seven cookbooks and, in 2010, won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings on British food. He is known ...
and
Ben Elliot Benjamin William Elliot (born 11 August 1975) is a British businessman and fund-raiser for the Conservative Party who served as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party from July 2019 alongside James Cleverly (2019–2020), Amanda Milling (2020 ...
flew to New York to escort his body back to the UK. A private funeral service was held for Shand at Holy Trinity Church in Stourpaine,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, on 1 May 2014, where his father's funeral service had been held.


Legacy

To honour his memory as one of the greatest "wildlife" personalities of his generation, the Balipara Foundation Awards in
Assam, India Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to ...
, created the Mahout Mark Shand Recognition for Elephant Management award in 2014, shortly called the Mark Shand Mahout Award as a special award, which will be awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution towards the well-being of the Asiatic Elephant population. Also in 2014, St Ronan's in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, his former school, dedicated an all-weather pitch named the Shandy-Ba under construction in his memory. Shand was known as a sporty pupil and captained the cricket and rugby teams during his time at the school from 1959 to 1964. After his death, The Elephant Family received overwhelming support, in reply, the charity launched The Mark Shand Memorial Fund, which will raise funds to save the
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
. The Elephant family also built the Mark Shand Memorial Asian Elephant Learning Centre, a clinic for elephants at the Kaziranga Discovery Park in India, which was launched by life patron
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Sir Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rothschild (29 August 1931 – 7 November 2022) was a British financier and a member of the Rothschild family. Early life Evelyn de Rothschild was born on 29 August 1931. The son of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild ( ...
in November 2015.


Travel books

*''Skulduggery'' (1987). Jonathan Cape Ltd. *''Travels on My Elephant'' (1992). Eland Books. * '' Queen of the Elephants''. (1996). Vintage. *''River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra''. (2003). Little, Brown


References


External links


The Mark Shand Memorial Fund
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shand, Mark 1951 births 2014 deaths Goldsmith family
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
Cubitt family
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
BBC people British travel writers British conservationists British male journalists British television journalists People educated at Milton Abbey School Writers from London Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in New York (state)