A longtime friend of King Charles who served as equerry to the Queen Mother died after he became trapped between a wall and his bed while drunk, an inquest heard today.
Old Etonian Ian Farquhar, 78, was found dead with his legs up in the air above his bedside table at his home, a coroner’s court heard.
A coroner ruled that the retired Army Captain, who loved horses and hunting, was probably trying to move off his bed.
Mr Farquhar rose through the ranks of the military as part of the prestigious cavalry regiment the Queen’s Own Hussars, becoming a Captain. Whilst in the army he also served as equerry to the Queen’s Mother, attending public engagements with her.
His daughter, Victoria, revealed how he would ‘drink a litre of gin and a couple of bottles of wine in a day’.
After leaving the army he was the Master of the Beaufort Hunt, one of the largest and oldest fox hunts in the UK, and he also regularly dined with King Charles and Queen Camilla at their Highgrove residence in Gloucestershire.
The inquest heard that in the last few years of his life Mr Farquhar struggled with his health, he was unsteady on his feet and had to use a walking stick as well as being unable to pull himself up when he had a fall.
On March 6 this year, care worker Beth Gillingham arrived for Mr Farquhar’s daily visit and heard no response as she called out to him when she entered his home near Chippenham, Wilts.
Ms Gillingham went up to the bedroom and could not see the former huntsman until she looked down the side of the bed and saw him trapped between the wall and his bed.
The carer checked for a pulse but when she could not find one she called the police who attended the scene and pronounced Mr Farquhar dead just after 1pm.
The inquest held at Salisbury Coroner’s Court, Wilts, heard that Mr Farquhar’s blood alcohol level was 4.5 times over the drink drive limit when he died.
An empty bottle of Gordon’s gin, two empty wine bottles and a half empty bottle of whisky were found in Mr Farquhar’s home.
The pathologist recorded postural asphyxia, inversion of the body and alcohol toxicity as the cause of death, which was also adopted by the coroner.
At the inquest, a statement was read out from Mr Farquhar’s daughter, Victoria, who described his love of horses but said that hunts are where his drinking problem began.
‘He went to Eton then joined the military and went to Sandhurst,’ Ms Farquhar said.
‘He became the queen mother’s equerry, he said he was essentially the queen mother’s bodyguard.
‘He was a huge lover of horses and would go on hunts where there would be a dinner afterwards.
‘The amount of drinking was considered normal for the activity but as time went on we thought he had a drinking problem. He would drink a litre of gin and a couple of bottles of wine in a day.
‘He did try and stop and he would for a couple of weeks, doctors advised Ian that if he did not look after himself he would die.’
Ms Farquhar explained that her father began to suffer from falls in 2022 and the family contacted care agency Helping Hands who would visit for an hour or so a day to provide Mr Farquhar with support and companionship.
Stuart White formed a close bond with Mr Farquhar as his main carer and, in a statement, he told the inquest that Mr Farquhar would talk about his past but that he missed being able to look after dogs and horses.
Mr White said: ‘I visited for an hour once a day but our visits often ran longer. He liked to chat, my role was to check on his wellbeing and general housework tasks.
‘Over time he let his guard down, we laughed and joked together, Ian would often tell me about his past.
‘Ian had moments when he was depressed due to his inability to do what he wanted to do, he had loved looking after dogs and horses.’
The inquest heard that Mr White was on annual leave when Mr Farquhar passed away but went to the house to speak to police when the agency informed him of his death.
Area Coroner for Wiltshire Ian Singleton recorded a conclusion of death by misadventure saying that Mr Farquhar had probably moved off the bed in a ‘deliberate act’ but he had not intended to die.
Mr Singleton said: ‘Ian lived alone at Church Cottage, he had a past history of drinking to excess, he had become unsteady and needed assistance getting off the floor.
‘On the morning of March 6 Ian was found deceased by a carer between the wall and his bed with his feet in the air above the bedside table.
‘It is unclear how he came to be in that position but it would appear it is the result of a deliberate act on his part that unintentionally led to his death.
‘I pass onto the family my sincere condolences for their loss.’