Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles are set to host the Elephant Family’s Animal Ball tonight, which will see some of the world’s greatest fashion houses dress the great and the good in a theatrical tribute to Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White Dance. The extravagant evening aims to raise millions for the Elephant Family charity, which was co-founded by Camilla’s brother Mark Shand. However, the Duchess’ royal patronage of the charity comes after a heartbreaking family tragedy.

Mark founded the charity in 2002,  after dedicating decades of his life to saving the Asian elephant, however he died atthe age of 61 after a shock accident in 2014. 

Penny Junor, in her 2017 biography “The Duchess” recounts the sudden accident and how it affected the Duchess of Cornwall. 

She writes: “Mark died at the end of an evening in which he had raised $1.7million for his beloved elephants.”

After auctioning off elephant statues by famous artists such as Jeff Koons at Sotheby’s in New York, Mark celebrated the charity’s stunning fundraising total with colleagues.

Later that night, on the way back in to the Gramercy Hotel after popping out for a cigarette, Mark lost his footing and fell backwards, hitting his head on the pavement.

His family had to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off life support after neurologists told them the fall had left Mark “99.5 percent brain dead”.

Ms Junor explains: “A post-mortem revealed that his skull had been unusally thin in places. Had it been thicker he may have survived.

“The whole family was devastated. Camilla found it particularly difficult.”

The royal biographer goes on to write: “Her family still worry for her.

“Amongst other things, they worry that she hasn’t properly processed the grief of her brother’s death and that she is still living in her nerves.

“She and Charles have become joint presidents of the Elephant Family and have secured £20million  to preserve 100 elephant corridors across India by 2025. 

“She is furthering Mark’s dream but she can’t talk about him.

“Some in her family feel that there is a side of her that’s trying to hold everything together because she fears that if she allows the smallest chink in the armour, the entire suit will shatter.”

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have stated: “Elephant Family’s work is helping to secure a long-term future not just for Asia’s elephants, but for the wider biodiversity of Asia’s forests and wild landscapes which are vital to the survival of us all.”

Both Prince William and Prince Harry have themselves supported elephant conservation, alongside their father and stepmother. 

The Duke of Cambridge is the patron of the Tusk Trust, which works to protect African elephants, alongside other conservation initiatives, and Prince Harry has worked with elephants and rhinos on the African continent, too. 

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