Sadness for Queen Consort Camilla after death of brother-in-law Simon Elliot is announced

The Queen Consort is mourning her brother-in-law of more than 50 years after the death of her sister Annabel’s husband, landowner Simon Elliot, was announced today. 

Elliot, whose late father Sir William was an Air Chief Marshal of the RAF, has died at the age of 82, his family said in a statement. 

Camilla, 75, was known to have a close relationship with the businessman, who Annabel wed in 1972 at the age of 23 – and the couple even joined the royal on her honeymoon to Charles. 

Simon and Annabel, 74, shared three children together: ex Conservative Party chairman Ben Elliot and his sisters Alice and Catherine. 

Simon Elliot, the Queen Consort’s brother-in-law, has died at the age of 82. The business owner wed Camilla’s sister Annabel in 1972 and the couple share three children, Ben, Alice and  Catherine

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Camilla invited her interior designer sister and her husband on her Balmoral honeymoon after she wed the then Prince Charles in 2005 and the now King and Queen Consort frequently visited the couple’s in the Dorset village of Stourpaine when they were dating. 

And it was at Annabel’s 50th birthday party at the Ritz Hotel when her sister stole the limelight by ‘coming out’ as Charles’ partner, the couple using the occasion to pose for their first public pictures together on the hotel steps. 

The Queen Consort has enjoyed a close relationship with her brother-in-law for over five decades, the pair pictured at the wedding of Camilla’s niece Alice Elliot

Camilla, right, pictured with her sister Annabel and brother-in-law Simon Elliot before she became the Duchess of Cornwall, and now the Queen Consort

Happier times: Camilla is seen smiling alongside her late brother-in-law at the London wedding of Ben Elliot and Mary-Clare Winwood

Simon and Annabel attend the wedding of their son Ben Elliot and Mary-Clare Winwood in 2011

Annabel’s interior design skills have seen her run her Dorset business for over 30 years, with the King employing her to redesign various royal households over the years. 

The younger brother of Camilla and Annabel, Mark Shand, was killed in 2014 following a fall in New York.

The Queen Consort is today hosting a reception to mark International Women’s Day at Buckingham Palace.

Camilla has had a busy week of public engagements; yesterday, she joined the King in Colchester, Essex, to celebrate its new city status and had tea with supporters of charity Age UK and The Silver Line, a helpline for older people.

Their visit came as entries for the Queen Consort’s Coronation Champions Awards, organised by the Royal Voluntary Service and backed by the Daily Mail, flooded in.