Freak Fall Kills Prince Charles' Brother-in-Law

Mark Shand suffered head injury while stepping outside to smoke

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 23, 2014 12:55 PM CDT

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Prince Charles' Brother-in-Law Dead in Freak Fall — The Duchess of Cornwall walks with her brother, Mark Shand, during a visit to the Elephant Parade exhibition at the Chelsea Hospital Gardens in central London, Thursday, June 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Ian Nicholson, Pool)

Mark Shand, the brother of Camilla, duchess of Cornwall, has died after a freak accident in New York. "The Duchess, the Prince of Wales, and all her family members are utterly devastated by this sudden and tragic loss," says Clarence House in a statement, according to Sky News. Shand, 62, was attending a charity event at Sotheby's when he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, the New York Daily News reports. He slipped while lighting it and hit his head on the pavement, suffering a serious head injury. (Read more Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall stories.)