King Charles reportedly tried to reach longtime friend and famed British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes after hearing troubling reports about his declining health and isolation — but the effort apparently went nowhere.
The 82-year-old adventurer, who has Parkinson’s disease, has remained out of the public eye for roughly two years, prompting an unusual wave of concern from relatives, longtime friends and some of Britain’s best-known explorers.
But despite the increasingly alarming headlines surrounding Fiennes, authorities have stressed that he is not officially considered missing. Cheshire Police recently said officers and partner agencies are aware of the concerns surrounding him and are satisfied he is receiving suitable care with professional oversight.
The extraordinary involvement of the King reportedly began in February 2025, when Anton Bowring, Fiennes’ longtime friend and business associate, contacted Buckingham Palace to raise concerns about the explorer’s condition.
Bowring said he told palace officials that Fiennes was in a “very poor state.”
According to Bowring, Charles’ then-equerry William Thornton subsequently contacted him and said the King was deeply concerned about his old friend and wanted to send a personal message to Fiennes, his wife Louise Millington-Cotes and their daughter Elizabeth.
Bowring said he provided Thornton with Millington-Cotes’ telephone number so the palace could make contact.
However, according to accounts subsequently given by Bowring, the effort did not result in Charles being put directly in touch with Fiennes.
Millington-Cotes reportedly objected to Bowring sharing her contact information and did not facilitate the contact the King was seeking.
The episode has attracted particular attention because Charles and Fiennes have known one another for decades. The King supported Fiennes’ famed Transglobe Expedition, during which Fiennes and Charles Burton became the first people to travel around the world along its polar axis using surface transportation.
RadarOnline, citing an unidentified source, went further by claiming Charles was personally distressed by his inability to reach Fiennes. That account has not been independently confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
The questions surrounding Fiennes have grown far beyond the King’s attempted outreach.
Fiennes’ stepson, Alexander Millington-Cotes, 31, has launched a crowdfunding campaign seeking £55,000 — roughly $74,000 — to pay for specialist legal action aimed at safeguarding the explorer and challenging his mother’s authority over Fiennes’ care.
Millington-Cotes is estranged from his mother, who holds lasting power of attorney for Fiennes’ health and welfare.
Other relatives and friends have also said they have struggled to maintain contact with the explorer, while reports have claimed Fiennes was moved among several care facilities, sometimes under assumed names.
Concerns escalated following Fiennes’ stay at a care home in Wales.
Care Inspectorate Wales was reportedly alerted to questions surrounding restrictions placed on Fiennes while he was there. An email attributed to the regulator and reported by British media said the required authorization governing restrictions on his liberty was not then in place.
Such safeguards are designed to protect adults who may lack the capacity to consent to restrictive care arrangements and to ensure restrictions are lawful, proportionate and in the individual’s best interests.
That issue does not, by itself, establish that Fiennes was abused or deliberately mistreated.
There has also been a significant development that complicates suggestions the explorer has simply vanished.
Recent British media reports indicate Fiennes is believed to have returned to his secluded farmhouse in Shropshire. The Times reported that footage appeared to show him walking around the property with the assistance of a frame, although the date on which the footage was recorded reportedly could not be established.
Police have meanwhile pushed back against the darkest speculation surrounding his condition.
Detective Chief Superintendent Claire Jesson of Cheshire Police said authorities are “satisfied that Sir Ranulph Fiennes is living in an appropriate setting with suitable care and professional oversight.”
Police said no immediate safeguarding concerns had been identified, while adding that any new information would be assessed through appropriate multi-agency procedures.
Authorities also urged the public to respect Fiennes’ privacy and avoid unnecessary speculation.
Millington-Cotes and several of Fiennes’ friends remain unconvinced, however, and have continued calling for greater scrutiny of the arrangements surrounding the explorer.
Among those publicly expressing concern have been Bear Grylls, Ben Fogle, Joanna Lumley, BBC journalist John Simpson and broadcaster Monty Don.
Grylls has called Fiennes a “true British icon” and described reports about his isolation as deeply troubling.
Fiennes’ disappearance from public life is particularly striking because he spent decades as one of the most recognizable adventurers in Britain.
In addition to completing the Transglobe Expedition, Fiennes and Mike Stroud made the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica. At age 65, Fiennes also reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming at the time the oldest Briton to accomplish the feat.
His exploits came despite serious health setbacks. Fiennes suffered a heart attack in 2003 and underwent emergency double bypass surgery. He was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.
Now, friends who once followed him to some of the most remote places on Earth say simply getting in touch with him has become a challenge.
Bowring, who has known Fiennes for approximately five decades, recently said he fears he may never see his friend again.
For now, that concern exists alongside a much more reassuring assessment from police: Fiennes is believed to be receiving appropriate professional care, and authorities say they have found no immediate reason to intervene.
What remains unresolved is why so many of the explorer’s longtime friends and relatives say they have been unable to maintain contact with him — and whether the mounting legal and public pressure will ultimately provide them with the answers they are seeking.
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