ALEXANDER Millington-Cotes says he has spent two years trying to find Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and is now seeking £55,000 for specialist legal help
The stepson of the legendary explorer has launched a £55,000 fundraising appeal to pay for specialist legal advice in an attempt to establish where Fiennes is and, he says, to safeguard his welfare.
The 31-year-old says he has spent the past two years trying to locate his stepfather, who has not been seen in public since 2024.
The appeal, titled ‘Locate and Safeguard Sir Ranulph Fiennes’, says the money will be used for legal representation, court documentation and associated fees, together with the costs of determining Fiennes’ exact location and passing that information to the relevant authorities.
Millington-Cotes describes Fiennes as “a man of immense heart, kindness, and selflessness who supported me for years”.
He says the decision to launch the appeal followed attempts to find Fiennes through a number of avenues, including visits to care homes where he believed his stepfather might be staying.
“I myself have tried multiple avenues to find Ran and be able to have a simple conversation with him, or to be able to take him for a brief coffee,” he said.
Among those attempts, he says, were visits to KYN Hurlingham and Belong Crewe. He says he approached the homes with the hope of finding Fiennes and, in one case, even took cookies with him.
“I have left both with a feeling of dismay and a slightly emptier heart; yet, I remain unwavering in my efforts in finding Ran.”
The fundraising appeal comes after a series of reports concerning Fiennes’ care arrangements and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance from public life.
The Telegraph has reported that the 82-year-old has spent time in a succession of care homes and that a care inspectorate concluded that he had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty because appropriate legal safeguards had not been put in place. The Independent has also reported on those allegations and on calls from Fiennes’ friends and family for an investigation.
Those reports remain allegations and reported findings concerning particular care arrangements. There is no complete public account of Fiennes’ current circumstances.
Millington-Cotes says his immediate objective is to establish those circumstances through legal channels.
“Ran has spent his entire life pushing boundaries for others and representing the best of human endurance,” he explained. “Now, he needs us to fight for him.”
The appeal had raised £1,875 from 38 donations when the fundraising page was accessed on Saturday, against its £55,000 target.
He added that after he was asked to leave the family home in around 2024, he became increasingly concerned about Fiennes’ isolation.
“His isolation would consist of being effectively annexed in the other end of the house, with relatively minimal contact,” Millington-Cotes said.
He recalls occasionally turning up unannounced with treats for his stepfather, which he says involved climbing over a “7-foot industrial entrance gate”.
The search for Sir Ranulph Fiennes
But it is his account of their last meeting that perhaps gives the appeal its most poignant moment.
“The last time I saw Ran was when he whisked me away while I was walking up the drive on one of my infrequent post-2018 visits,” he writes.
“Sadly neither him or I realised that it may be the last time we’d see and hug one another.
“This is the moment he told me he was proud of me, a sweet moment in my memory.”
Millington-Cotes makes no attempt to disguise the fact that his relationship with his mother, Louise Millington-Cotes, is strained.
Louise is Fiennes’ second wife and, according to current accounts, holds lasting power of attorney relating to his care. Her son wants that arrangement revoked. The Independent reports that the Office of the Public Guardian has said it cannot comment on individual cases.
Millington-Cotes says his relationship with his mother has caused him “great pain and distress”, but that he put those feelings aside when he learned from friends and family that Fiennes was considered missing.
“Upon learning from other friends and family that Ran was considered missing, I put aside my own pain and immediately felt anger,” he insisted.
He explained that anger came from seeing experiences he had personally encountered apparently being repeated in relation to his stepfather.
He describes Fiennes as a man who, for as long as he could remember, was “completely selfless, kind and abided by an excellent moral code.”
Fiennes’ withdrawal from public life has been particularly striking given the extraordinary visibility of his career.
He became the first person to cross Antarctica on foot and spent decades undertaking expeditions that made him one of Britain’s best-known explorers. He has also climbed Everest and undertaken numerous other major expeditions.
His last significant public appearance was due to have been at an event at the Royal Geographical Society in London in October 2024, celebrating his achievements.
Instead, he sent a pre-recorded message explaining that he was “not well enough” to attend in person and has not been seen publicly since.
Fiennes has previously spoken publicly about having Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2019. Recent reporting has raised questions about his care, but his current medical circumstances are not publicly known.
Millington-Cotes’ appeal follows growing concern from people who know Fiennes.
Long-standing friend and BBC correspondent John Simpson has called for greater transparency, writing that he was “Horrified to hear what’s happened to my good friend Ran Fiennes.”
“I’d like to tell the relevant authorities everything I know about the way he’s been treated,” Simpson said. “He’s the world’s bravest man, and he’s vulnerable. We must know what’s happening to him.”
Arabella McIntyre-Brown, the sister of Fiennes’ first wife Ginny, has also expressed concern and has said she attempted to establish contact with him while he was staying at a care home.
The wider dispute has prompted calls for the Office of the Public Guardian to investigate the circumstances surrounding Fiennes’ care and the use of the lasting power of attorney.
The OPG has said only that a lasting power of attorney is intended to ensure that appropriate decisions can be made by someone trusted when an individual lacks the capacity to make those decisions themselves, adding that it cannot comment on individual cases.
Care Inspectorate Wales has similarly declined to comment on Fiennes’ individual circumstances.
For Millington-Cotes, the immediate objective appears straightforward, even if achieving it may prove considerably more complicated.
The fundraising page says all money raised will go towards “the legal costs required to locate and safeguard Sir Ranulph Fiennes”, including specialist legal representation, preparation of court documents and associated professional and court fees.
If the campaign succeeds and money remains after its stated objectives have been met, Millington-Cotes says the surplus will be donated to two charities that he identifies as Fiennes’ favourites: Marie Curie Cancer Care and the British Heart Foundation.
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