Sir Ranulph Fiennes wrote a secret will in his Everest tent after planning divorce he NEVER told his wife about

From the Newshound archive · first published 5 October 2026.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes penned a sealed will in his base camp tent the night before an Everest summit bid, friend Michael Kobold has alleged, handing it over with strict orders not to open it until after his death. The 82-year-old explorer, who has Parkinson's disease, has not been seen in public since 2024, with family and King Charles reportedly blocked from reaching him by his wife, Louise Millington-Cotes.

Kobold claims Sir Ranulph had decided to divorce Louise just two months before the Everest trip, seeking a lawyer and PR firm so he would not become 'the next Sir Paul McCartney'.

The divorce plan collapsed when Millington-Cotes reportedly confronted her husband at their Exmoor farm, after which he told Kobold the split was off.