A lifelong friend of King Charles has tragically died after becoming trapped between a wall and his bed while intoxicated, an inquest heard. Ian Farquhar was discovered dead with his legs raised next to his bedside table at his residence, according to the coroner’s court.
The retired Army Captain is thought to have been attempting to move from his bed when he became stuck. Farquhar served as the Queen Mother’s equerry and in the Queen’s Own Hussars, a British Army cavalry regiment, and reportedly became close friends with King Charles when Prince William dated his daughter, Rose Farquhar, in 2000 after finishing his A-levels at Eton.
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At the inquest, Mr Farquhar’s daughter, Victoria, spoke about his love for horses but also revealed that he developed a drinking problem through hunting. She said: “He went to Eton then joined the military and went to Sandhurst” “He became the queen mother’s equerry, he said he was essentially the queen mother’s bodyguard. He was a huge lover of horses and would go on hunts where there would be a dinner afterwards.”
“The amount of drinking was considered normal for the activity but as time went on we thought he had a drinking problem. He would drink a litre of gin and a couple of bottles of wine in a day. He did try and stop and he would for a couple of weeks, doctors advised Ian that if he did not look after himself he would die.”
The 78 year old had begun to experience falls in 2022, leading the family to enlist the help of Helping Hands for around an hour each day for companionship and assistance. His carer Stuart White spoke of their bond, saying: “I visited for an hour once a day but our visits often ran longer. He liked to chat, my role was to check on his wellbeing and general housework tasks.”, reports the Mirror.
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White also reflected on Mr Farquhar’s low spirits due to not being able to care for his animals: “Over time he let his guard down, we laughed and joked together, Ian would often tell me about his past. Ian had moments when he was depressed due to his inability to do what he wanted to do, he had loved looking after dogs and horses.”
The verdict by Area Coroner for Wiltshire, Ian Singleton, labelled the death ‘by misadventure,’ noting that while Mr Faquhar’s actions were voluntary, his death was not intentional: “Ian lived alone at Church Cottage, he had a past history of drinking to excess, he had become unsteady and needed assistance getting off the floor.”
“On the morning of March 6 Ian was found deceased by a carer between the wall and his bed with his feet in the air above the bedside table. It is unclear how he came to be in that position but it would appear it is the result of a deliberate act on his part that unintentionally led to his death.”
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