On a glorious early spring day in Scotland where red squirrels scampered over the lawn, breakfasting on a conveniently placed bucket of nuts, and birds of all sizes sang away in their morning chorus, peace reigned and all seemed well — until the shrill ring of the telephone broke the magic. An anguished voice on the other end told me that something terrible had happened to my brother; my indestructible brother, Mark. Surely nothing could have happened to him? He was in New York raising money for his beloved elephants, but an unfamiliar pavement had claimed his all-too-short life following a hugely successful auction for the Elephant Family, a charity he co-founded in 2002. My charismatic and sometimes infuriating brother, who had survived tsunamis, shipwrecks,
Camilla: my brother’s enduring love affair
Mark Shand with Tara, the elephant he rescued in Orissa, eastern India, on a trip that changed his life