Bear Grylls led secret expedition to Everest to recover the body of Pippa Middleton’s brother-in-law

TV adventurer Bear Grylls has led a secret expedition to Mount Everest aiming to recover the body of Pippa Middleton‘s brother-in-law, who died in a mountaineering accident hours after becoming the youngest Briton to conquer world’s highest peak.

The Chief Scout, who counts the Princess of Wales among his friends, led an expedition to Mount Everest earlier this year to try to recover the body of Michael Matthews.

Mr Matthews died aged 22 in a mountaineering accident in 1999 after following the example of his friend Mr Grylls, who had reached the summit of Everest the previous year at the age of 23.  

Michael Matthews, 22, (left), with friend Jamie Everest in front of the summit of Everest in 1999

Mr Matthews on the famous mountain in 1999, when he broke Mr Grylls’ record

Mr Grylls (left) with Neil Laughton on the summit of Mount Everest in 1998

He was the brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband, racing driver turned hedge fund manager James Matthews, 47. 

He and his brother, the Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, are friends of Mr Grylls, 48, the son of late Tory MP Sir Michael Grylls.

‘We actually had an expedition on Everest to try to recover the body of the brother of a good friend, who climbed it the year after I was there but was never found,’ Mr Grylls said.

‘We really tried. We had the best team in the world.’ 

The Matthews family are desperate to find his body. 

The Chief Scout led an expedition to Mount Everest earlier this year to try to recover the body of Mr Matthews

Mr Grylls on Mount Everest in 1998, when he was 23-years-old and set a record

See also  Mother, 51, stole £100,000 worth of rare teddy bears from her boss and sold them on eBay

Speaking at the Oxford Union, the Old Etonian said: ‘We had a team of, like, ten Nepalese guys and some other incredible Western climbers. We did manage to recover one body. It was not of Michael; it was a Nepalese climber.’

Mr Grylls, who has attracted big names including former US President Barack Obama and Hollywood stars Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller to appear on his show, Running Wild With Bear Grylls, added: ‘The story has not come out yet, so I am not going to talk too much about it, but it was a really special moment for [Michael’s] family.

‘It is the reality of high-altitude mountaineering, as people pay the ultimate price up there.’

In March this year, Spencer Matthews was reportedly in the early stages of making a documentary about his late brother’s last days before he died descending Mount Everest.

The CleanCo founder, 33, was said to be ‘hugely passionate’ about embarking on the journey, which would retrace the steps of his sibling.

He was said to have the backing of his parents and his brother James, who is married to Pippa Middleton, to create the ’emotional’ project, which will see Spencer visit his brother’s final resting place.  

Project: In March Spencer Matthews was reportedly in the early stages of making a documentary about his late brother Michael’s last days before he died descending Mount Everest

Spencer described his brother (left next to sibling James) as an ‘incredible force of nature’

The Sun reported that Spencer was intent on bringing his brother’s body home.

A source said at the time: ‘Spencer’s documentary about Michael and his final days is at the very early stages and Disney+ have shown an interest.

‘Though the Matthews family were never able to recover Michael’s body, there is a guide who believes they know his final resting place.

‘It is a hugely emotional project and will be a very upsetting journey for many reasons, but Spencer is hugely passionate about embarking on it if he can make it work.’

Experienced mountineer Mr Matthews, who had previously conquered Kilimanjaro, died in 1999 on a quest that saw him become the youngest Brit to conquer Everest. He was the 162nd person to die on Everest.  

Although he reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain, he became separated from his group during the route down the mountain.

Mr Matthews’ body has never been recovered and his family have never been able to fully understand what happened to him. 

He was an accomplished climber who had scaled the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and Kilimanjaro before he went on to attempt his fateful Everest trek, which cost around £22,000, using a climbing company.

After leading the group, the rest of the climbing pack claimed he began to struggle near the end and on their descent, a storm with 100mph winds hit leading to Michael’s separation from the group. 

David Matthews, the millionaire patriarch of the family, has always vowed the negligence of the mountain guides was to blame for his death.

He brought a private case against three men working for the firm amid claims the safety briefings were inadequate, his oxygen supply was faulty and the guides failed to keep Michael in their sights during the climb. 

The case was dismissed as the judge insisted there was no evidence of negligence. 

Michael’s brother James is married to Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of the Princess of Wales (pictured with Michael, Carole and James Middleton)

See also  Corden again denies screaming at Balthazar waiter, says owner 'wasn't even there' during incident

Spencer is married to model and TV star Vogue Williams

Spencer and his family have since raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for The Michael Matthews Foundation, created in his brother’s memory to support education projects in Africa and Asia.  

In Spencer’s 2013 book Confessions of a Chelsea Boy: The Autobiography, he discussed the devastating loss of his sibling.   

Speaking about the family, including his other brother James, he said: ‘His loss was devastating for the family and over time this became worse because the circumstances surrounding Michael’s death have never been fully explained.

‘James took the news badly. With just a year and a half between them, he and Mike were the closest of friends. The loss was heartbreaking for James.’ 

Of the unanswered questions surrounding the death, Spencer went on: ‘We have not been able to say goodbye in person. We have nowhere to go to sit with him. 

‘He lives on with us in our minds only. On Mike’s birthday James and I send mum and dad red roses for the age he would have been. I guess our family’s way of dealing with losing Mike is to believe that he goes on with us.’ 

In a 2001 Guardian article on the tragedy, Spencer and Michael’s father David explained how he originally trained with his son and his colleague Jamie Everett for the Everest expedition.

David was forced to drop out of the climb after a training climb up Aconcagua  where he discovered that surgery he had had on his carotid artery prevented him from climbing well at altitude.