Queen Camilla arrives at memorial service for Ian Farquhar
Queen Camilla today joined 500 mourners at a funeral for her friend Ian Farquhar, after the death of the renowned horseman and legendary hunting figure aged 78.
Captain Farquhar’s daughter Rose, whom Prince William dated in 2000, was also at the service in Badminton, Gloucestershire, with her husband George Gemmell.
William and his ‘first love’ Rose remain friends, and he attended her wedding to former professional polo player Mr Gemmell in nearby Tetbury in December 2022.
Captain Farquhar, who was also close friends with King Charles III, previously lived on the monarch’s Highgrove estate in the county where he rented a farmhouse.
The Old Etonian was found dead at his home near Chippenham in Wiltshire by his carer on the afternoon of March 6 after struggling to breathe, an inquest later heard.
Today, Camilla attended the memorial service for Captain Farquhar at St Michael and All Angels’ Church on the Badminton estate which is owned by the Duke of Beaufort.
Camilla arrives today for Ian Farquhar’s memorial service in Badminton, Gloucestershire
Mr Farquhar’s daughter Rose Farquhar at St Michael and All Angels Church in Badminton today
Ian Farquhar died at the age of 78
The Queen, who was also representing the King, arrived in a green-grey Audi estate car ahead the service which was officiated by the Reverend Richard Thomson.
Camilla’s first husband Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles previously revealed Mr Farquhar had been in poor health for some months and called his death ‘very sad’.
Speaking to the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden at the time, Parker Bowles described his friend as ‘wild as a hawk in his youth, but always great fun’.
He also said that Mr Farquhar would be ‘judged by history as one of the great Master of Hounds’, having been Master of the Beaufort Hunt for 34 years.
Parker Bowles also described him as ‘a real countryman, a very good officer, a brave amateur rider, a hard-riding polo player and an excellent public speaker’.
Captain Farquhar was born in Dorset in 1945 to a hunting family and educated at Ludgrove School near Wokingham and Eton.
Camilla arrives today for Ian Farquhar’s memorial service in Badminton, Gloucestershire
Mr Farquhar’s daughter Rose Farquhar at St Michael and All Angels Church in Badminton today
He then enrolled at Sandhurst for officer training and in 1966 was commissioned into the Queen’s Own Hussars, where he served as a cavalry officer.
Captain Farquhar, who was known as ‘The Captain’, then became an equerry to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1971 and held the post for two years.
He left the Army in 1973 to become Master of the Bicester and Warden Hill Hunt, hunting their hounds for 12 seasons.
In 1985, he was invited to become joint-master and huntsman of the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, hunting until 2010.
He was a renowned breeder of foxhounds, a vice-chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association and was a known supporter of the Countryside Alliance.
An inquest at Salisbury on March 20 was told a post-mortem examination had showed Captain Farquhar died from postural asphyxia. This is when the way the person is positioned prevents them from breathing properly.
People may die from this accidentally, when the mouth and nose are blocked, or where the chest may be unable to fully expand.
Wiltshire Police confirmed ‘no suspicious circumstances’ relating to his death.
