Di's stepbrother dies

2004-04-28 10:53

London - The stepbrother of Britain's late Princess Diana has died in Cambodia, the Foreign Office in London said on Tuesday.

Adam Shand Kydd, aged 49, died in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, a Foreign Office spokesperson told AFP, adding that news of the death had been given to British officials on Monday.

"We are in contact with the next-of-kin, and consular assistance is being provided," she said.

Police suspect he died after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

Shand Kydd was one of three children born to businessman Peter Shand Kydd from his first marriage, which ended in divorce after he met and fell in love with Diana's mother.

Diana was herself the product of the marriage of Frances Roche - later Frances Shand Kydd - to the Eighth Earl Spencer, which ended in divorce in 1968.

Earl Spencer was granted custody of Diana and her siblings, and she was not brought up with the Shand Kydd children.

Diana's mother was hospitalised last week in Scotland, where she has lived for many years, with one Scottish newspaper saying she had an incurable brain ailment.

However family friends later said that Shand Kydd was recovering.

- AFP