Michael Brudenell-Bruce, the Marquess of Ailesbury, was found dead on the patio at the home of his long-term partner, Teresa Marshall de Paoli.
Allegedly, he died after falling a balcony while letting his cat, Honeybun, out of a first-floor window.
His partner of 37 years found him in a pool of blood on the concrete paving stones.
Speaking to The Sun, Marshall de Paoli said, “It was a freak accident. He was covered in blood. I said to him, ‘Oh, my darling, what has happened?’, but he was dead.”
She then added that police believed she killed him, but “there had not been a row – I hadn’t hit him”.
“I think the cat got her head stuck and he pushed [the window] up and lost his balance, and he fell onto the patio,” she said. “He fell, breaking the roses on the wall as he fell.”
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“He could have been lying there an hour, an hour and a half. He was cold and very pale.
“I got a cushion and put it under his head. I dialled 999 and said my partner has had an accident.
“The ambulance and police was here within seven minutes and a police officer, a woman said he was dead.
“A Police officer said death was instant. The police treated it as a crime.”
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Marshall de Paoli was later allowed to see her late husband again and spray his body with his favorite aftershave.
Michael Brudenell-Bruce was a former Eton student, a Royal Horse Guards captain, and a stockbroker. His family and friends are grieving his sudden and tragic loss. He was a relative of Prince Harry’s ex Florence Brudenell-Bruce, a model and actress.
