SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Duchess of Cornwall's younger sister reveals their late brother Mark was 'a user and abuser'

By Sebastian Shakespeare for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:38 EST, 8 October 2015 | Updated: 02:01 EST, 9 October 2015

When the Duchess of Cornwall’s brother, Mark Shand, died last year following a fall in New York, glowing tributes described the roguish travel writer as kind, witty and a natural bon viveur.

But the forthcoming issue of Vanity Fair magazine has published a profile on Shand which paints him in a rather less flattering light.

Shand’s older sister, Annabel Elliot, reveals that her sibling could be emotionally demanding: ‘He was a user and abuser; we all knew that in the family. 

Close: Mark Shand’s older sister, Annabel Elliot (left), says her sibling (right) could be emotionally demanding

'But we all went back for more. And that’s the interesting thing.’

A former colleague at the auction house Sotheby’s, where Shand once worked as a porter, also reveals his predilection for drugs.

Duncan McLaren tells the magazine: ‘He was chopping cocaine on my desk. And the senior director came in and asked: “Mark, what are you doing?” “Oh, I’m separating talcum powder.” The man believed him and walked out.’

Camilla Duchess of Cornwall is pictured with her brother Mark Shand in June 2010

Shand, who was expelled from Milton Abbey school for smoking cannabis, was later fired from Sotheby’s when he and a colleague were caught in the packing room dressed in rare 14th-century Japanese armour, duelling with samurai swords.

Shand, 62, suffered a head injury when he slipped and fell on the pavement on a night out in Manhattan in April last year. 

He was put on life support but doctors could not save him. He died 12 hours later. 

Fatal fall: Shand (pictured delivering the Humpty Dumpty Egg, complete with the signatures of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to Clarence House in 2012) suffered a head injury in his Manhattan fall last year

Camilla, 66, was extremely close to her only brother, who was known for his swashbuckling travel books and a passionate commitment to wildlife conservation.

A source close to Camilla said at the time: ‘They are a very close family and even if they didn’t see each other every week — as was often the case with Mark — were in constant contact.’

Shand left £900,000 to his daughter Ayesha, whom he had with ex-wife Clio Goldsmith.

His secret love Ruth Powys got nothing because he died without a will.

Celebrated for his performance as Thomas Cromwell in the BBC drama Wolf Hall, Mark Rylance is known for immersing himself in his roles. 

The 55-year-old actor has, however, disclosed that his performances play havoc with his fragile state of mind.

‘I have great mood swings, maybe because of playing lots of characters, as I do,’ he admits. 

'I’m like a gymnast whose muscles get too stretched. I’ve got better at it, but I have a lot of emotional energy.’

Did Clooney push button for Amal?

Every cloud has a silver lining, at least when your lawyer is human rights barrister Amal Clooney

Every cloud has a silver lining, at least when your lawyer is human rights barrister Amal Clooney.

Clooney and her client, Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy, who was recently released after spending more than 400 days in an Egyptian prison over tenuous accusations of terrorism, spoke about the experience in London on Wednesday. 

Despite hiring hotshot lawyer Amal, Fahmy lost his case in a Cairo court earlier this summer.

Curiously, however, soon after Amal’s husband, actor George Clooney, publicly called on the Canadian government to do more to free Fahmy, he was granted a pardon by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and released last month. 

Does that explain the cloud above her head?

Has Emma McQuiston, better known as Viscountess Weymouth, developed a taste for the limelight?

The 28-year-old wife of Lord Bath’s heir Ceawlin Thynn starred in BBC documentary All Change At Longleat last month.

On Wednesday evening, the mother-of-one was spotted accompanying her close friend, Made In Chelsea star Mark Vandelli, to the cast party for the forthcoming series of Made In Chelsea.

No doubt it won’t be long before she’s doing cameos on the downmarket reality show itself.

Marriage is wasted on the young, says Mariella Frostrup, 52: ‘In maturity, love is both simpler and more powerful. Your ardour isn’t based on partners’ physical perfections but on their beloved imperfections.

‘The whisper of grey, the eyes that crinkle like crisp bags when they catch sight of you. Give me mature love any day.’

Let’s hope her husband Jason McCue feels the same.

Cressie and a VERY saucy spy

After recently squiring Prince Harry’s ex Cressida Bonas, Wolf Hall actor Ed Holcroft’s budding acting career is about to get interesting.

Wolf Hall actor Ed Holcroft recently squired Prince Harry's ex Cressida Bonas. Above, the pair in July

Ampleforth-educated Ed, 27, will appear later this month in BBC2 thriller London Spy, which sees him nakedly frolic with Ben Whishaw, aka Q from James Bond.

A source invited to a recent screening of the mini-series, in which Ed plays an MI6 agent called Alex, describes the pair’s on-screen romp as ‘full-on sex scenes in which naked male buttocks loom large’. 

Yowzers.

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