Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury Bt (22 May 1938 – 5 November 2004), styled Lord Ashley between 1947 and 1961, and Earl of Shaftesbury from 1961 until his death, was a British peer from Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England. He was the son of Major Lord Ashley and Françoise Soulier.

Lord Shaftesbury was the grandson of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury. Shaftesbury's father was the heir apparent to the earldom and its subsidiary titles, but he predeceased his father, the 9th Earl. His death made his son next in the line of succession. When his grandfather died in 1961, Tony became the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, Baron Ashley of Wimborne St Giles and Baron Cooper of Pawlett.

The 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was a wealthy landowner of over in East Dorset, and received honours and awards for his philanthropic and conservationist work, which included planting over a million trees in South West England. He served as president of the Shaftesbury Society, pursuing the same goals of his second great grandfather, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who had founded the organisation as Ragged Schools in 1840. He also served as the vice president of Sir David Attenborough's British Butterfly Conservation Society.

In November 2004, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury went missing while in France, prompting an international police investigation. His remains were found at the bottom of a remote ravine in the foothills of the French Alps five months after his death. Investigations revealed that he was murdered by his brother-in-law during an argument regarding a divorce from his wife, Jamila M'Barek, both of whom were convicted of his murder.

Education and early years

Anthony Ashley-Cooper was born on 22 May 1938 in London, England. He was named after his father, as was tradition for firstborn sons in the Ashley-Cooper family. His father, Major Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley, was the firstborn son of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury. Notable among his ancestors were the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, a leader of the Whig party in Parliament, and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, a 19th-century evangelical social reformer, who was honoured with the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in London's Piccadilly Circus.

thumb|upright|right|Christ Church at the University of Oxford

Ashley-Cooper's mother was the French-born Françoise Soulier, daughter of Georges Soulier of Caudebec-en-Caux, France. Major Lord Ashley and Françoise remained married until his death in 1947. Anthony's younger sister was Lady Frances Mary Elizabeth Ashley-Cooper (born 9 April 1940).

Ashley-Cooper was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. As a child, his primary pursuits outside of getting an education included mountain climbing and skiing. He also expressed a love of music, which continued into adulthood with his service as chairman of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1966 to 1980. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps, where he did his national service, on 29 June 1957. On 29 October 1958, he was placed in the emergency reserve of the 10th Royal Hussars. Lord Ashley was 22 years old when he succeeded his grandfather.

The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, prior to his death, invested and arranged financial matters so that his heirs would avoid death duties. When his grandfather died, the newly titled 10th Earl of Shaftesbury came into a vast fortune of the Shaftesbury estates and other properties, including the family's 17th-century home and large estate in Dorset, as well as residences in Hove, London, Versailles and the French Riviera. Shaftesbury also inherited a collection of art, antiques, and other valuables worth over £3m. By the 1990s, the wealth of the family estate remained well worth millions.

St Giles House

thumb|upright=1.3|[[St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles, home of the Earls of Shaftesbury since 1651]]

The Shaftesbury estate in East Dorset is the home base and centre of business of the Ashley-Coopers. In addition to St Giles House, the family owns a large estate, including over , along with property, land, and loughs, that establishes them as one of the wealthiest families in the United Kingdom.

Built in 1651, the family seat of St Giles House was unoccupied for many years following the death of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, and fell into disrepair apart from one wing used as the estate office. In 2001 it was recorded on the Register of Buildings at Risk, as a Grade I listed building, indicating neglect and decay. Buildings recorded on the Grade I list include those of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". Following extensive repairs, in 2012 the house was reoccupied by the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury and his family.

Conservation and philanthropy

thumb|right|upright|Map of counties surrounding [[Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.]]

Lord Shaftesbury received honours and awards for his conservationist work. He continued to allow water to be extracted from the lough at no charge.

House of Lords speech

Although a member of the House of Lords, until the passage of the House of Lords Act in 1999, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury rarely attended. His maiden speech was made on 10 November 1999, the day before the act was passed and came into force. At this time, Shaftesbury made an eight-minute presentation in a debate regarding arts and sport, a portion of which is presented below.

The Earl of Clancarty rose to ask Her Majesty's Government how they believe the arts and sport relate to the issue of "social exclusion".

7 p.m. The Earl of Shaftesbury

:My Lords, I apologise to noble Lords for this dramatic last-minute but not opportunistic maiden speech. Although I inherited my title 30 years ago and have attended spasmodically, particularly during the early 1970s when we rigorously debated the Industrial Relations Bill and the European Community Bill of Accession, both in Committee and on Report until extremely late at night, my heart has not entirely been in the thrust and cut of politics, unlike my more distinguished ancestors.

:In fact, building a society the Shaftesbury way is not a matter of imprisoning a presumed evil spirit of mankind. It is a matter of beauty and truth. Both Goethe and Voltaire were influenced by the 3rd Lord Shaftesbury. The former particularly reminded us that we must cultivate our garden. We all know about large prize-winning marrows, but are not succulent baby courgettes more perfect? Small is beautiful too...

:One of the best sermons I have ever been privileged to hear was by the late Bishop of Winchester. Social exclusion? He said virtually that if one sheep from a flock of 100 goes missing, the good shepherd worries frantically about that single sheep until it is safely found. There are too many sheep, men, women and children, being marginalised. John the Baptist had the answer: why do we not? I remain concerned in these turbulent times, but thank you for your patience. It has been my privilege to be able to speak in your Lordships' House.

Marriages and children

Shaftesbury was married three times. He expressed his attraction to foreign women. At Eton, he wrote an article for the college magazine in which he described English debutantes as "round-shouldered, unsophisticated garglers of pink champagne". Bianca Maria de Paolis (born c. 1926), was the daughter of Gino de Paolis, a Roman banker. She had previously been married to the American film producer, Jack Le Vien. Shaftesbury and de Paolis were declared husband and wife at the Westminster Register Office in front of a few friends, with none of his family in attendance. They divorced 10 years later, on grounds of his adultery with an unnamed woman. The couple had no children.

The former Countess of Shaftesbury, who used the name Contessa Bianca Shaftesbury, released her memoirs in 2008, entitled, A Life on Fire. She died on 16 March 2013, in Rome, Italy. The funeral was held on 18 March 2013 at the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Piazza del Popolo.

Christina Eva Montan

In December 1976, Shaftesbury married the Swedish-born Christina Eva (born c. 1940). Styled The Countess of Shaftesbury after their marriage, she was the daughter of Nils , the former Swedish Ambassador to Germany. Lady Shaftesbury was also a divorcée with a son and daughter from her first marriage, the half-siblings of the 11th and 12th Earls of Shaftesbury. Frederic Casella is a television producer and director in Britain, while his sister Cecilia is an attorney living in New York City. Shaftesbury and his second wife had two sons:

Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury (24 June 1977 – 15 May 2005), first-born son of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury and his wife. He died of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York, while visiting his younger brother Nicholas and older half-siblings Frederic and Cecilia.
Nicholas Edmund Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury (born 3 June 1979), a former DJ and house music promoter in New York and Privilege in Ibiza, Spain. A short time following his brother's death, Nicholas relocated to the family seat at Wimborne St Giles, returned to business school for a couple of years, and assumed the responsibilities of the earldom. He has shown an interest in supporting charitable organisations, primarily those addressing the needs of children with disabilities. In December 2009, Nicholas suffered serious spinal injuries in a horse riding accident. He crushed his vertebrae in the fall. While he experienced initial paralysis necessitating the use of a wheelchair, physical therapy has helped restore his health to the point where he is able to walk, with limitations. With continued rehabilitation, doctors expect a full recovery. Shaftesbury had fallen hard for a 29-year-old French model named Nathalie Lions. In 1993, M'Barek had posed naked in Playboy. They were married on 5 November 2002, at Hilversum in the Netherlands.

By April 2004, the couple were separated when Lord Shaftesbury started a new relationship with a young mother of two named Nadia Orche, who has been described as a "club hostess from Cannes" and a "Moroccan prostitute". The difference in their ages did not bother her. She described him as "an attentive and generous man".

Disappearance and murder

thumb|Seafront at Nice, from where Shaftesbury disappeared

On 3 November 2004, Shaftesbury arrived in Nice, France, scheduled to meet with his estranged wife. On 4 November, he visited her at her home on Avenue Mareschal Koenig. He later checked into the £130-a-night, four-star Noga Hilton on the Cannes seafront. The following day, after checking out of the hotel, Shaftesbury vanished without a trace. From that point forward, the whereabouts of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury were unknown until April of the following year.

Friends and family become concerned

It was normal for Shaftesbury occasionally to disappear for a few days from time to time, so no one other than his girlfriend was initially concerned with his disappearance. "Anthony didn't answer his telephone anymore. I was worried," she says, "I called again. I called England. This wasn't like him. I was sure that something bad had happened."

On 15 November 2004, Shaftesbury's Nice-based lawyer, Thierry Bensaude, reported him missing after being contacted by his girlfriend, Orche. The peer divided his time between the Riviera and a home in Hove, East Sussex. He had been due to return home on 10 November.

Theories on Shaftesbury's whereabouts

Family and concerned individuals initially feared that the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury had been kidnapped by Russian or North African gangsters who were plotting to steal his fortune. Thierry Bensaude stated that Shaftesbury is "extremely generous to his friends and may have been taken advantage of". His former wife claimed that she had warned her husband about the company he was keeping. The theory was that some of his more disreputable acquaintances had decided to kidnap the peer and were now engaged in some scheme to force him into signing away part of his inherited wealth.

Commander Brunache said, "We took the case very seriously. There were a number of possible explanations for his disappearance. He could have decided to disappear, a suicide, or he could have been the victim of a crime. There were several possibilities and we were exploring all of them."

Confession and arrest

In February 2005, his wife Jamila M'Barek was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she had an emotional breakdown and began confessing to her involvement in her husband's death. When interviewed by police, she claimed that Shaftesbury had been beaten to death by her brother during a fight at her flat in Cannes. This belief was confirmed through DNA testing on 18 April 2005.

Jamila M'Barek told the court that she was not with her brother when he disposed of the body, and in fact, she stated that she had never been to the site. She claimed that she had no role in the killing other than helping her brother, under duress, load the body into his car. She told investigators, "I did not want him to die. I just wanted my brother to intimidate him so that he would continue to pay me my allowance. But he didn't want to have anything to do with it, so a violent quarrel broke out. I left the room because I could not stand to see what was happening".

Trial at the Palais de Justice

thumb|Palais de Justice de Nice, France; Court Hall in Nice, France

On 22 May 2007, the trial of Jamila M'Barek and Mohamed M'Barek opened at the Palais de Justice in Nice, years after the death of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. The presiding judge of the jury trial was Nicole Besset, with Jean-Louis Moreau serving as the state prosecutor. Shaftesbury's widow was represented by attorney Franck De Vita, while her brother was represented by Melanie Juginger. The Ashley-Cooper family was represented by attorney Philippe Soussi.

A forensic examination of the skeletal remains revealed injuries including a broken ankle, and a double fracture to the larynx which indicated strangulation as the cause of death. At times, both Mme M'Barek and her brother admitted their involvement in the death of Lord Shaftesbury, and the French authorities decided to charge both her and her brother with the crime of premeditated murder. Having struck gold when she married the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, she then faced "looming financial disaster" in the event of a divorce and set out "consciously and without constraint, to accomplish his assassination".

Lady Frances Ashley-Cooper testified. "When my brother said he would divorce her, she would not accept". She stated that before the separation, Shaftesbury was convinced by his wife to sell the Versailles flat. Testimony continued, regarding the disappearance of antique furniture and family artefacts.

[Jamila] and Mohammed arranged to empty the flat and when my brother asked where his mother's furniture had gone to, she said it was on a boat to Tunisia where it was going to be sold. My brother was distraught. This was cruel emotional blackmail. In fact, the furniture was in storage in Cannes, but my brother never knew that. I have just managed to get hold of the key.

Mohammed M'Barek expressed frustration with the French authorities that had kept him "in prison for two-and-a-half years for nothing". he shouted as police wrestled with him in the dock. After refusing requests from his lawyer and the judge to sit down and be quiet, M'Barek was taken down to the cells and the hearing temporarily adjourned.

Mme M'Barek further stated that the arguments she had with her husband had nothing to do with money, but rather arose as a result of Lord Shaftesbury's excessive sexual demands brought on by his seemingly endless injections of testosterone. The wiretap also uncovered the truth about Jamila M'Barek's visit to the remote spot where her husband's body was found. This was supported when downloaded records from the GPS tracking device in her cellphone provided details that she (or at least her cellphone) had been there two days prior to Shaftesbury's death.

On 4 February 2009, Jamila M'Barek appeared in a court in southern France to appeal her conviction. After the jury deliberated for four hours, her sentence was reduced from 25 to 20 years at a Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence. With all appeals exhausted, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury expressed his relief at the verdict and said he could now get on with his life after closing a "very painful chapter".

Funeral and burial

On 30 September 2005, funeral services were held for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. Hundreds of mourners were in attendance, held at the parish church in Wimborne St Giles. Those in attendance included Shaftesbury's second wife, Christina, Countess of Shaftesbury; his son, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury; and his sister, Lady Frances Ashley-Cooper.

Charles Palmer-Tomkinson read from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet, while Shaftesbury's sister read from For These Once Mine, by George Santayana. "The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi" was read by Shaftesbury's son, Nicholas, who had inherited the title of 12th Earl of Shaftesbury a few months prior.

References

External links

Hawk and Owl Trust The 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was president of the Hawk and Owl Trust
Livability The Shaftesbury Society merged with John Groom's Crippleage and reorganised as 'Livability'
Curse of the Shaftesburys In-depth history of the Shaftesbury tragedies