‘Head of Queen’s Scottish family’ leaves £40m in will
Widow and children to inherit Strathmore fortune
A colourful aristocrat, who was known as the head of the Queen’s Scottish family, has left a £40 million fortune in his will.
Lord Strathmore, the Queen’s first cousin once removed, died aged 58 in February last year following a long battle with cancer.
The 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Michael Fergus Bowes-lyon, was known for his chequered relationships and struggles with alcohol. The former Scots Guards captain was considered to be “head of the Queen’s Scottish family” and walked behind Prince Charles and Prince William at the Queen Mother’s funeral.
His 14th-century family seat, Glamis Castle, in Forfar, was the Queen Mother’s childhood home.
The earl’s recently published will has revealed he had a fortune valued at £39,388,550 at the time of his death.
His wealth included his £14m share of the Glamis estate and the £20m Holwick estate in County Durham.
He also had a large and varied £143,000 motor vehicle collection which included Land Rovers, quads, a Bentley, articulated lorries and a Dennis fire engine.
The peer’s other assets included the household contents of Glamis Castle which were valued at £82,625, around £60,000 held in accounts with the Queen’s bank Coutts and a £1m share in a wind farm company based in Lanarkshire.
He instructed that his estate should be left to his widow Karen and his children.
A one-time Conservative whip in the House of Lords, Lord Strathmore was known to his friends as Mikey.
In 1984, he married captain’s daughter Isobel Weatherall. They went on to have three children, Simon “Sam” Patrick Bowes-lyon, 30, who suc- ceeded him as the 19th earl, John “Jock” Fergus Boweslyon and George “Geordie” Norman Bowes-lyon.
However, after 20 years, the marriage broke down, leading to a bitter divorce battle.
The earl developed a problem with alcohol and in 2004 was discovered with three call girls from The Pleasure Zone massage parlour in Darlington at Holwick Lodge, his second stately home.
After the revelations about his sex life, he expressed his regret, saying that the event had happened during “an extremely difficult phase” in his life.