Duchess of Cornwall Visits Brother Mark Shand's Old School

[cinrit]

The Duchess of Cornwall has visited her brother's old school to dedicate an all-weather pitch to his memory.  Camilla is thought not to have been to St Ronan's School in Kent, attended by Mark Shand, for more than 50 years.

Mr Shand, 62, who was known at school by the nickname Shandy-Ba, died in New York City in April when he fell and hit his head on the pavement.  The conservationist and writer was chairman of the Elephant Family, which works to protect the Asian elephant.

The pitch, which is still under construction, has been named Shandy-Ba.  Dedicating it at a school assembly, the 67-year-old royal told pupils: "Wherever Mark is today, he would be so proud that this all-weather pitch has been named after him.

More: BBC News - Duchess of Cornwall visits brother Mark Shand's old school

The Duchess of Cornwall Visits Kent

The Duchess of Cornwall celebrated her brother's love for life as she visited his old school in Kent - and told tales about her sibling chasing her with a cricket bat.

The Duchess was welcomed back to Saint Ronan's School, a place she had not visited for more than 50 years and where her younger brother, Mark Shand, spent his happiest school days. He was known by the nickname Shandy-Ba.

Mr Shand's passion in life was protecting the endangered Asian elephant and his rescue of Tara, whom he saved from the streets of eastern India and rode 600 miles to safety, led to his best-selling work Travels On My Elephant, and the Foundation of the conservation charity Elephant Family.

At a school assembly The Duchess dedicated an all-weather pitch - still being built and named Shandy-Ba - to her brother's memory.

More: The Duchess of Cornwall visits Kent

Cindy

[sandy]

I am sure Mark Shand was a nice guy but there is  much coverage of him lately. I think it is more of a family matter than of national interest.  Even though he is a sibling of the Duchess, other royal relatives don't get this much coverage. I wonder why his daughter is not representing him at these events.

[Canuck]

I'd say his death clearly got more attention than it otherwise would have because Camilla is his sister.  That said, he was still a public figure in his own right, having written several books and appeared in documentaries.

As for why Camilla attended this event instead of his daughter:  I'd say that is probably something decided amongst the family members.  Of course I'm sure his daughter is very affected by his death, but she is only 19 and may not feel up to making public appearances with media attention on her at this stage.  And Camilla was by all accounts very close to her brother, so I'm not surprised she would attend something honouring him at his old school.

[sandy]

I would not say he was exactly a public figure. He was not world famous. People have written books (many have) and have been in documentaries which does not make them public figures. Some have discovered Camilla's brother when they read up about her. I think it's more a family event for the PBs and Shands.

As I said he was probably a nice person but he certainly was no internationally renowned statesman or war hero for instance.

[Canuck]

No, he was clearly not quite famous or anything like that.  Still, he'd done some interesting work raising awareness of environmental issues, which I suspect is why his school wanted to honour him.

[TLLK]

I agree that his daughter might not have felt confident enough in public to dedicate the field. Having Aunt Camilla take on the task would be a good substitution. Glad that the school will have a new field for play.