Who is Sir Ranulph Fiennes? The legendary British explorer at the centre of care home dispute

Concerns are continuing to grow over the welfare and whereabouts of the UK’s most daring explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, as his friends and family call for an investigation into his care arrangements.

The 82-year-old has not been seen publicly in around two years, with his wife facing allegations he has been unlawfully placed in a series of care homes under a fake name.

It has been claimed that his wife Louise Millington-Coates has placed extreme conditions on how he is looked after, and not allowed him to see friends or family.

It is understood that King Charles, a friend of Sir Ranulph’s, has attempted to make contact after being informed of his declining health and isolation, but was blocked from doing so.

Described by The Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer”, Sir Ranulph has led some of the world’s most daring expeditions, which have included being the first person to cross both polar ice caps.

Born into an aristocratic family in 1944, he never met his father who was killed during the Second World War, but inherited the baronetcy of Banbury upon his death.

After studying at Eton, he joined his father’s former regiment, the Royal Scots Greys, later moving into the Special Air Service and becoming the youngest captain in the British Army.

He led the first hovercraft expedition up the Nile, in 1968, and in 1970, he received the Sultan of Oman's Bravery Medal for his role in fighting Marxist terrorists in Oman for two years.

Over the course of his seven-decade career, he embarked on a number of endurance challenges, including being the first person to have climbed the highest mountain on each continent, and running seven marathons in seven days on each of the seven continents.

In 1970, he married his childhood sweetheart and fellow adventurer Virginia ‘Ginny’ Pepper, who was the brains behind the historic Transglobe Expedition, which saw Sir Ranulph and his colleague Charles Burton trek the globe vertically on its polar axis.

Recognised as the first and only successful circumnavigation of its kind, the 52,000-mile journey lasted between 1979 and 1982, and saw the explorers trek around the globe using surface transport only.

The achievement earned him the Livingstone Gold Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

In 1992, he led a team that discovered the lost city of Ubar in Oman, an ancient trading centre of frankincense, after seven previous search expeditions had failed.

With Mike Stroud, in 1992-93, Sir Ranulph completed the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent – the longest unsupported polar journey in history, lasting more than three months and in temperatures of minus 45C.

During his attempt to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole in 2000, he suffered severe frostbite to the tips of all the fingers in his left hand, and cut them off himself with an electric fretsaw.

In 2005, he climbed Mount Everest in Tibet to within 300m of the summit, raising £2m for a heart MRI scanner.

He raised nearly as much in 2007 for Marie Curie Cancer Care when he climbed the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, with Kenton Cool and Ian Parnell.

He climbed Mount Everest in 2009, on his third attempt, when he was 65, becoming the oldest Briton to climb the mountain. His first attempt had been cut short when he suffered chest pains near the top.

At the age of 71, he became the oldest Briton, at the time, to complete the Marathon des Sables – the “toughest footrace on Earth” – in aid of Marie Curie. He ran 159 miles over six days in temperatures of at least 50C.

As well as an adventurer, Sir Ranulph has made several media appearances and is the author of 26 fiction and non-fictions books, including a best-selling biography of Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

After 34 years of marriage, Ginny died of cancer in 2004. Sir Ranulph, then 62, married his second wife, Louise Millington, who was 38, just over a year later. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 2006.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, he retreated from public life in 2024 due to his failing health.

Where is Sir Ranulph now?

Sir Ranulph has not been seen in two years, despite being previously open about his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

His wife has lasting power of attorney over his care, and is understood to have installed him in several different care homes under a pseudonym, and that he has not been allowed to receive visitors.

It comes after a care home owner in Wales, where the explorer had been placed for seven weeks this year, told The Telegraph they had reported several concerns about Sir Ranulph’s wellbeing to the authorities, including the police.

In an email seen by the newspaper, the care inspectorate wrote: “Currently [Sir Ranulph] is being deprived of his liberty unlawfully as there is no authorised deprivation in place which reflects the current residence and restrictions in place.

“[Sir Ranulph] is under continuous supervision and control, is not free to leave and is not able to consent to care, treatment and accommodation.”

Sir Ranulph’s stepson, Alexander Millington-Cotes, is calling for an investigation into his whereabouts after being unable to see his stepfather for more than a year.

Mr Millington-Cotes’ crowdfunder had raised almost £20,000 on Monday afternoon. He told supporters: “Ran has spent his entire life pushing boundaries for others and representing the best of human endurance. Now, he needs us to fight for him.”