Sir Ranulph Fiennes Drew Secret Will on Everest After Wife Vetoed Divorce Plan, Friend Claims

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes drafted a secret will by hand in his tent at Everest base camp in May 2008, following a significant marital crisis, according to his friend Michael Kobold. Kobold, who has known Fiennes for 30 years, told The Mail on Sunday that Fiennes handed him the sealed document with instructions to open it only in the event of his death.

Kobold, a Swiss watch entrepreneur, stated that two months prior to this, just before leaving the UK for Nepal, Sir Ranulph had decided to divorce his second wife, Louise Millington-Cotes. Sir Ranulph had even asked Kobold to assist in finding a law firm and a public relations expert to manage the divorce proceedings. However, Kobold claims that Mrs. Millington-Cotes discovered the plan, leading to a "much deflated" Sir Ranulph changing his mind after she confronted him at their farm in Exmoor, Somerset.

"I don't know what's in the will and I promised Ran I wouldn't open it until he died," Kobold said. "I get emotional thinking about it because it was a difficult time for all of us. Ran was not happy with the situation."

Kobold described the period as a "very bleak time" in Fiennes's life, possibly the darkest up to that point, as he felt "trapped." The circumstances surrounding the will's creation come to light amid widespread speculation about the current whereabouts of the 82-year-old explorer, who has Parkinson's disease and was last seen publicly two years ago. Friends have raised concerns that Mrs. Millington-Cotes has moved Sir Ranulph between various care homes in London, Wales, and Cheshire under an alias, preventing his associates from seeing him.

Sir Ranulph married Mrs. Millington-Cotes, a horse trainer from Cheshire, in 2005, the year after his first wife, Ginny, passed away. Reports indicate that at one London care home, visitors were required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and at another in Wales, where he was registered as Robert Millington, instructions were allegedly given for him not to socialize with other residents. Following an outcry from friends, who have called for investigations by the police and the Office of the Public Guardian, Sir Ranulph is now believed to be at his isolated farm in Shropshire.

Mobil Kobold, who is preparing to publish a book about Sir Ranulph's disappearance, shared his observations from several weeks spent with the couple in 2008. He described Mrs. Millington-Cotes as subjecting Sir Ranulph to "a ceaseless barrage of attacks, always humiliating him in front of me and other people."

Kobold also recounted an incident where Mrs. Millington-Cotes allegedly took Sir Ranulph's passport and locked him out of their Cheshire home, leading to him sustaining injuries while attempting to climb back in through a bathroom window. Kobold claims he persuaded Sir Ranulph to proceed with the divorce, offering to manage the arrangements due to Sir Ranulph's unfamiliarity with the process.

Sir Ranulph had feared the divorce could become acrimonious, referencing the split between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Kobold and Sir Ranulph were scheduled to discuss the divorce plan at Sir Ranulph's farm, but Mrs. Millington-Cotes reportedly intervened, speaking with her husband alone before he informed Kobold that he could not proceed with the divorce.

Following this, and after Kobold arranged a new passport, Sir Ranulph traveled to Nepal. Kobold, who joined him at base camp, saw a copy of a new will drafted by Fiennes. "At base camp, for whatever reason, he created a new will," Kobold stated. "Something must have come into his mind."

The legal validity of this handwritten will is uncertain under English law, which typically requires two witnesses. Kobold recalled signing the document but has no memory of the event. Sir Ranulph, then 65, attempted to reach the summit of Everest but was forced back by exhaustion. He successfully achieved the feat the following year, becoming the oldest Briton to do so at the time. Mrs. Millington-Cotes was approached for comment.