Sir Ranulph Fiennes wrote a secret sealed will during an unsuccessful expedition to Mount Everest, one of his close friends has alleged. Fears over the explorer’s whereabouts have begun to circulate after friends and family noted he had not been seen in public for more than two years.
Friend claims explorer planned divorce before Everest trip
A long time friend of Sir Ranulph said he was with him when he wrote up plans for after his death. German entrepreneur Michael Kobold, who has known Sir Ranulph for 30 years, claimed the explorer had told him he had decided to divorce his second wife just two months before heading to Nepal to climb the 29,000ft peak.
He claimed to the Mail on Sunday that Sir Ranulph had asked him for help with finding both a law firm and a PR company for the divorce process, so he wouldn’t be ‘the next Sir Paul McCartney’. ‘In Ran’s mind, this was a very bleak time in his life. Probably the darkest time, up until then, because he felt trapped,’ he said.
Will written at Everest base camp
Mr Kobold also claims to have seen Sir Ranulph, then aged 65, pen a new will in his tent at base camp at the foot of Everest. The explorer didn’t reach the summit on that occasion, but became the first British person to do so the following year.
Although a will must be signed by two witnesses to be valid under English law, Mr Kobold didn’t recall having put his name to the document. However, he had reportedly written a different will in the past which Mr Kobold claims he had signed. The pair were due to discuss the will at a meeting at Greenlands, Sir Ranulph’s farm in Exmoor.
Wife allegedly intervened
However, he believes Mrs Millington-Cotes caught wind of the plans and asked to have a private conversation with her husband. Sir Ranulph then allegedly told his friend he wasn’t going ahead with the break up, Mr Kobold told the publication.
Sir Ranulph, who has Parkinson’s Disease, has not been seen in public since 2024 and is thought to be being moved between care homes under a false name, under arrangements allegedly devised by Mrs Millington-Cotes. The former horse trainer allegedly insisted on her husband wearing a hat, sunglasses and gloves to prevent anyone recognising his face or frostbite-damaged fingers while he was out for walks.
He is now thought to be back at his home in Cheshire, after several family members and friends began to question his whereabouts. Among figures to speak out was BBC veteran journalist John Simpson who insisted it must be known ‘what’s happening to him’, adding the explorer was the ‘world’s bravest man’ but also vulnerable. Ms Millington-Cotes has asked not to be contacted by the press.
