Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury
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Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (22 May 1938–2004) was a British aristocrat. He went missing in France in November 2004 and was reportedly murdered by his brother-in-law during an argument. On 6 April 2005, Lord Shaftesbury's body was found in the Alps.
He inherited the Earldom of Shaftesbury in 1961 from his grandfather, the 9th Earl; his father, Lord Ashley, having died in 1947. He also held the subsidiary tiles Baron Ashley and Baron Cooper. Shaftesbury's mother, his father's second wife, was French-born Françoise Soulier.
He had residences in Hove, the City of London, the French Riviera, and Versailles. Although a member of the House of Lords until the passage of the House of Lords Act in 1999, he rarely attended. He made his maiden speech in 1999.
Lord Shaftesbury was married three times. His first wife was Bianca Maria de Paolis, daughter of Gino de Paolis, whom he married in 1966 and divorced in 1976. In 1976, he married, as his second wife, Christina Eva Montan, the daughter of former Ambassador Nils Montan; they had two sons. In 2002, in the Netherlands, he married Jamila Ben M'Barek, a Paris-born nightclub hostess of Tunisian parents. They were estranged at the time of his death, and Lord Shaftesbury was dating another nightclub hostess.
In February 2005, Lady Shaftesbury and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, were arrested by French police on suspicion of murder. According to police, Lady Shaftesbury, after suffering a nervous breakdown, allegedly admitted that her brother and husband got into a fight at her home and that Lord Shaftesbury had been killed. Mohammed later admitted to strangling the lord but claimed that it was accidental. Both he and Jamila will stand trial for the murder.[1]
On 6 April 2005, a body in an advanced state of decomposition was discovered by the police of Nice at Théoule-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritime. It was believed to be that of the late Lord Shaftesbury, and this was confirmed though DNA testing on 18 April. The police had been led to the body by examination of Lord Shaftesbury's mobile phone records and his phone signal.
On 30 September 2005 Lord Shaftesbury was laid to rest in the family tomb in the parish church in his family's home village of Wimborne St Giles in Dorset.[2]
Shaftesbury had two children, both with Montan - Anthony, born in 1977 and died in 2005, and Nicholas, born in 1979.
[edit] References
- ^ "British lord's widow and brother-in-law to stand murder charges", Agence France Presse, 22 October, 2006. Retrieved on November 18, 2006.
- ^ Roy Harrington. "Penniless aristocrat is struck by family curse", Western Daily Press, 28 September, 2006, p. 18. Retrieved on November 18, 2006.
[edit] External links
- BBC: Story about his disappearance
- BBC: Story about arrests
- BBC: Confirmation of body's identity
- BBC: Funeral for Earl killed in France
- Dorset Echo: Slain earl laid to rest alongside son
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper |
Earl of Shaftesbury 1961–2004 |
Succeeded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper |
| Baron Ashley 1961–2004 |
||
| Baron Cooper 1961–2004 |
||
