Mark Shand's ex-girlfriend has paid tribute to the late conservationist.
Ruth Powys, the on/off partner of Britain's Duchess of Cornwall's brother - who died suddenly in the early hours of Wednesday morning (23.04.14) following a fall outside the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City - has spoken touchingly about her memories of Mark, describing him as her "inspiration in life".
The 39 year old, the CEO of his Elephant Family charity, had reportedly been involved with Mark since his divorce from Clio Goldsmith in 2009.
She told MailOnline: "Mark was my everything, my inspiration in life, he gave me everything I have, he's everywhere I look."
Explaining that she was by Shand's side at Bellevue Hospital at the time of his death, she said:"I had my hand on his heart...he was surrounded by his elephant family."
She continued: "We had been together off and on for many years after Mark was divorced, we were not together at this moment.
"I had moved to New York to try and separate myself from him, but we had the deepest love, we were full of love for each other.
"Our relationship was low key, we had a shared passion for elephants, we had the same spirit. We were trying to separate, it was such a difficult thing to do to try and move on, he wanted me to find someone my own age."
Ruth's twin sister Mary has flown to the US to comfort her sibling following the tragic news of the charity campaigner's death after he fell through a revolving door and sustained a fatal injury to his head.
Prince William and Duchess Catherine have expressed their condolences to devastated Camilla after the loss of her brother, who was just 62.

Ginnifer Goodwin's pregnancy is like having an "alien" inside her.
The 'Once Upon a Time' actress is due to give birth to her and husband Josh Dallas' first child in the coming weeks, and says the baby moves around a lot inside her.
She said: "There's like a Cirque de Soleil performance. It's like alien stuff....
"I was told that people would be coming up on the streets and just manhandling me, but I've been spared. I have been! I feel a little less loved, but..."
The 35-year-old actress married Josh in an intimate ceremony earlier this month and she admits she was terrified of "falling over" because of her large bump as she said her vows.
She said: "We wrapped production on 'Once Upon a Time' two weeks ago, and a couple days later I was wed in California.
" I married Prince Charming. We're both southern, so I was literally barefoot and pregnant at our wedding. I was afraid I would fall over. I don't know what I was thinking."
Though she didn't reveal the gender of the baby, Ginnifer admits she and her spouse are finding it hard to choose a first name that goes with his surname.
She explained: "Naming a child with the last name of Dallas is a little more complicated.
"[We won't have] a first name that begins with a D because it gets porn-y. And nothing geographical because it sounds like an airport.
"[Dallas] was like, 'Boy or girl, Austin Dallas.' I was like, 'That is an actual place where planes land. We can't do that.' "
However, referring to the fact Austin is actually in Texas, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel replied: "You're wrong. It is not. It would have to be a very, very big plane."

Beyonce has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.
The '(Run the World) Girls' hitmaker is on the cover of the prestigious publication's annual Time 100 issue, and is the subject of a tribute from Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Sheryl praised her for :[raising] her voice both on- and offstage to urge women to be independent and lead."
She also wrote: "Beyoncé doesn't just sit at the table. She builds a better one."
Other famous faces on this year's list include 'Happy' hitmaker Pharrell Williams - who is the subject of a touching tribute from Justin Timberlake - Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, former child star Miley Cyrus, 'Scandal' star Kerry Washington, "alarmingly talented" Benedict Cumberbatch, and Amy Adams.
While Amy's 'Sunshine Cleaning' co-star Emily Blunt paid tribute to her friend's talents, she also spoke about her "funny and dirty" sense of humour.
Emily wrote: "One night I was driving us home from a Mexican restaurant. I had just told her I was a great driver. Then, as we were leaving, I put the car in drive - rather than reverse - and drove us into a tree. It was a tap, not a cataclysmic crash.
"But to Amy, stuff like that is heaven. She just burst out laughing. That's what I love most about Amy - she's silly and funny and dirty. And she's incredibly honest. She's self-admittedly terrible at small talk and hiding her feelings, which I really admire in an industry full of gush."

Karrueche Tran has vowed to stick by Chris Brown "no matter what".
The 25-year-old model is reportedly keen to reassure her on/off boyfriend - whose misdemeanour assault trial has been delayed until June 25 - that she will be there for him, even if he is sentenced to more jail time.
A source said: "She wants to assure him that there's nothing to worry about and that she will be there for him no matter what, even if worse comes to worse.
"She feels like the beginning of his trial will be the biggest day of her life because Chris' fate is all on the line and [there] ain't s**t she can do."
The 'Yeah 3x' hitmaker - who is currently in jail because his arrest for the alleged assault last October represented a violation of the terms of probation which was set following his assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 - is said to have confided in Karrueche about how tough he is finding life in prison before his trial was postponed this week.
The source told HollywoodLife.com: "Kae couldn't believe it because he's rarely ever emotional with her. He told her he's tired and that he couldn't sleep and how he doesn't know if he'll be able to fall asleep because he's nervous.
"He told her to keep her fingers crossed for him and keep good thoughts because he doesn't know what's going to happen."
If convicted on the assault charge, the 'Run It' star faces a maximum of six months in jail and $1,000 fine, but he also faces up to four more years in jail in California as a result of violating the terms of his probation.

Mark Anthony has monthly outgoings of $305,000.
The Latino singer has refuted his ex-wife Dayanara Torres' claims he made $60 million over the last four years in new legal documents, insisting he actually earned a mere $40 million.
The paperwork, which has been obtained by TMZ and was filed as part of Marc's ongoing legal battle with the former Miss Universe - who is demanding he increases his monthly child support payments from $13,000 to $113,000 for their sons Cristian, 13, and Ryan, 10 - and lists his outgoings in great detail
According to the gossip site, the singer's accounts for the last two years show him spending $400,000 on domestic help, $200,000 on car rentals, $1 million for a house in California and another $700,000 for two homes in New York City.
Dayanara, who divorced Marc in 2004, claims she is forced to live in a modest San Fernando Valley home with the children, while the musical megastar - who also has four-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-wife Jennifer Lopez - leads a lavish lifestyle and has cash to spare.
However, the 45-year-old star apparently believes the increase in funds would spoil his sons "rotten" and worries the extra income would result in them becoming addicts.
Marc - who is rumoured to have split from Topshop heiress Chloe Green - hired a psychologist to write a letter to the judge highlighting all the problems that could arise from children living in Los Angeles in the thick of the entertainment industry.

London Grammar think artists have more control than they did a few years ago.
The band - made up of Hannah Reid, Dot Major and Dan Rothman - are nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for their track 'Strong' and feel lucky they haven't had to change to achieve success in the music industry.
Hannah told BANG Showbiz: "I actually watched an interview with Pharrell [Williams] recently where he said, 'This is a time in music where you can be yourself'. It [the industry] went through a funny period but now it is coming back to artists having more control again."
Although the act think "every band battles with their image" they feel their record label Metal & Dust Recordings Ltd understood they didn't want to start dressing or acting in a different way for their music to get noticed.
Dot said: "We've been quite lucky really, we're on an independent label and I think they're less inclined to do that sort of thing."
Meanwhile, the band are also achieving success in America and supported Coldplay last month at South By Southwest Festival in Texas where they hung out with frontman Chris Martin and drummer Will Champion.
Dan: "They were just amazing to us and for a band like them, they are the epitome of what you want to be as a band, what everyone wants to achieve in terms on longevity and success. For them to give us their wisdom and their thoughts on things was amazing."
London Grammar are up against Palma Violets and John Newman for the Ivor Novello and Arctic Monkeys, Emeli Sande, Sam Smith and Laura Mvula are also nominated in other categories.
The 59th annual Ivors ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 22 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Wiz Khalifa's pre-concert ritual is to "smoke a lot of weed".
The rapper likes to sit and relax with plenty of marijuana before he takes to the stage, after claiming he gets the drug for free because he has his own brand.
During a chat on US talk show 'Chelsea Lately', he said: "I listen to old-school music and smoke a lot of weed."
Wiz previously claimed he spent about £10,000 a month on weed before going into business, although he insists he still takes his music seriously.
He explained: "I'm really into what I do just in general. I love music. I love creating and just being around creative people.
"My team and producers and just my fans always, they're just driving me to do bigger and better things. That and my family of course."
The star previously insisted just because he smokes weed doesn't mean he encourages anyone else to take the drug.
He said: "I don't say, 'Yo, get up and do that.' I said that's what I do, and I tell you what I do while I'm doing it. I'm not trying to push drugs on anybody.
"I thought weed was bad for a minute. When I was younger, I thought it was bad, but I got to a point where it worked for me. It don't work for everybody else."
He added: "People gotta stay free, people need jobs, people got parents that probably wouldn't be with it, so don't ruin your life trying to be like me. That's my advice."

Patrick Schwarzenegger will star in 'Scouts Vs. Zombies'.
The 20-year-old star - who is the son of 'The Terminator' hunk Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver - will play a popular high school quarterback who is a rival to the boy scout troop, reports Deadline.com.
He will join 'The Tree of Life' star Tye Sheridan, I'm in the Band's Logan Miller, 'The Vampire Diaries' actor Joseph Morgan and The Office's David Koechner in the Christopher Landon-directed film.
Andy Fickman, Todd Garner, Bryan Brucks and Betsy Sullenger are producing the film which is set to begin shooting scenes on May 8.
Patrick will next appear in a coming of age story 'Dear Eleanor' alongside Josh Lucas, Jessica Alba and Isabelle Fuhrman.
Meanwhile, Patrick's famous father Arnold is gearing up to reprise his role as T-800 in 'Terminator: Genesis' and although he was unable to feature in 'Terminator Salvation' in 2009 because of his commitments as the Governor of California the actor is thrilled to hit the big screen and be part of the franchise once again.
He previously said: "The way that the character is written, it's a machine underneath. It's this metal skeleton but above that is human flesh, and the Terminator's flesh ages, just like any other human being's flesh.
"Maybe not as fast, but it definitely ages."
Before he added: "I did say, 'I'll be back', so now I'm back and it's going to be really terrific."

Barbie will hit the big screen in a live-action comedy.
The children's favourite - who was manufactured by American toy company Mattel - will cover some of her most famous looks, which include princess, president and mermaid in the forthcoming picture.
According to the Los Angeles Times newspaper, the film will be scripted by 'Rio 2' scribe Jenny Bicks and produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, and production will begin at the end of the year.
Hannah Minghella, Columbia Pictures' president of production, said in a statement: "We've always thought that the Barbie story had great potential, but a universe of possibilities opened up when Jenny, Walter and Laurie brought us their unexpected, clever and truly funny concept."
The fictional origin of Barbie - full name Barbara Millicent Roberts - sees her embark on an on-off romantic relationship with her boyfriend Ken, who first appeared in 1961. In February 2004 Mattel announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were hoping to rekindle their romance following his make-over.
The blue-eyed beauty is also known to have had over 40 pets and owned a wide range of vehicles.
This film marks the first collaboration between Sony and Mattel since the 'Masters of the Universe' which is still in development.

Charlotte Crosby plans to ski around Newcastle's clubs this winter.
The reality TV favourite has been jetting all over the world for the last few months shooting her new TLC show, 'The Charlotte Crosby Experience', which sees her break out of her comfort zone to immerse herself in extreme communities from India, Japan, the Arctic and Canada.
And the bubbly brunette is so proud of her newfound skills that she's hoping to convert her Geordie pals to her exotic hobbies, which now include Indian dancing and skiing.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I'm going to be doing the Indian dancing in the clubs and when the weather starts to drop below zero degrees I'm going to be out in me survival extreme gear, me Canada Goose coat and me mittens. I'm going to shove me skis on and ski into the club, have me ski goggles on. I'm going to use a bit of everything, everywhere!"
Charlotte experienced some bizarre beauty treatments and unusual rituals during filming, but joked that nothing made a bigger impression on her than the food in India.
The 23-year-old star confessed: "I got Delhi belly for sure. I got mine right as we were leaving, so it didn't affect us while we were filming, thank god for that. Not good on the plane home!"
It wasn't all fun and games, however, and Charlotte admits she was often reduced to tears because she found it so hard being away from her family, friends, and boyfriend Mitch Jenkins.
The 'Geordie Shore' star explained: "The hardest thing was sometimes feeling a little bit lonely because I was so far away from home. Especially in the Arctic, they don't even have iPhones!
"The community was literally only about 1,000 people - I don't even think they'd seen an iPhone. At times like that, in remote places, it was hard because I missed everyone."
Charlotte can't wait for her loved ones to tune in to her new show, although one person who definitely won't be watching is her little brother, Nathaniel.
She laughed: "Nathaniel's always playing on his iPad and the Xbox, he doesn't watch any telly at all. He comes down - which is on the odd occasion - to ask me mam a question, like when 'Celebrity Big Brother' was on and she was watching it every night, he'd be like, 'Oh, is that Charlotte?' And then go, 'Oh right'. He's just not really that bothered!"
'The Charlotte Crosby Experience' airs Tuesdays at 9pm from April 29 on TLC.

'Coronation Street' actress Barbara Knox pleaded not guilty to drink-driving in court this morning (24.04.14).
The 80-year-old actress - who has played Rita Tanner in the ITV soap since 1972 - appeared at Macclesfield Magistrates' Court this morning to enter her plea in relation to the alleged offence which occurred in Knutsford, Cheshire, on March 10.
Barbara was arrested following an afternoon out with her daughter Maxine Ashcroft, 56.
It was Maxine who was initially breathalysed as she drove home with her famous mother in the passenger's seat, and was found to be three times the legal alcohol limit at Middlewich Police Station.
However, when the soap star was later required to go to Knutsford Police Station to bail out her daughter, cops believed she had also been driving under the influence and was arrested, being charged with the offence on April 4.
Officers acted after Barbara arrived at the station in a car appearing to be "intoxicated" and after she refused a lift home and decided to drive her Jaguar vehicle a "short distance" she was breathalysed and arrested.
A blood test on the actress showed she had 85 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood in her system, with is just over the limit of 80 microgrammes.
Barbara's lawyer Nick Freeman - who has defended several stars on traffic offences, including David Beckham and Jeremy Clarkson - entered her plea and also accused police officers of "physically" manhandling her.
Freeman told the court: "She was physically manhandled in the police station. It was agreed she was in a highly emotionally-charged state ... She went into her car. She reverses a short distance, that is not in dispute. She doesn't dispute driving or being in a public place."
Knox - who suffers from high-blood pressure and hearing difficulties - will go on trial on July 23 for two days at Macclesfield Magistrates' Court.

Martin Freeman says 'Sherlock' fans can expect a "mouth-watering" one-off special.
The actor - who plays the titular detective's sidekick John Watson - has revealed writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have come up with an exciting idea which would see Sherlock and Watson return for a standalone adventure.
Speaking on talk show 'Alan Carr: Chatty Man', which will air on Friday (25.04.14), Martin revealed: "Steven and Mark have a great idea for something we could do next which they told [Cumberbatch]. It's a fantastic, really mouth-watering idea. But I really don't know when we are going to get to do it. There is an idea for this one-off special that's such a good idea, and as I was listening to it I thought, 'We've just got to do this.' And I don't know when we are going to be able to do it, unfortunately."
Martin admits it's getting harder to get the team together for more 'Sherlock' because he, his co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, Steven and Mark are all so busy with other projects.
Martin - who stars in 'The Hobbit' trilogy and also new drama 'Fargo' - added: "It's not only us two, it's Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, the writers and creators, we are all very busy. So in all honesty, and I'm not being cute here, I don't know ... It's getting planes to land in order. We just all need to be ready at the same time."
Speculation has been rife the next series would see the return of Sherlock's arch-nemesis Moriarty, while there have been rumours a Christmas special could happen with a festive mystery for the pair to solve.