Prince William mourns death of close friend Mark Jenkins and his son who were killed in tragic plane crash
LONDON, ENGLAND: Mark Jenkins, a conservationist and close friend of Prince William and Kate Middleton tragically died, alongside his son Peter Jenkins. The announcement of both their deaths comes directly from the Prince of Wales himself, with a personal tribute posted on his official social media handle, Kensington Royal. Jenkins and his son died on Thursday, December 8 while going on an aerial patrol to protect the wildlife over the Tsavo National Park in Kenya when their plane came crashing down.
The Prince of Wales paid an emotional tribute to his friend and spoke of Jenkins as someone who had ‘dedicated his whole life’ to protecting wildlife in the East African area. Jenkins had reportedly been on aerial patrol along with his son for a charity helping towards rescuing orphaned elephants and helping save elephants from poachers, as per Daily Mail.
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A statement from the Prince of Wales was posted in a tweet, “Yesterday, I lost a friend, who dedicated his life to protecting wildlife in some of East Africa’s most renowned national parks. Mark Jenkins, and his son Peter, were tragically killed when flying over Tsavo National Park while conducting an aerial patrol.” He then continued the tweet in a thread, where he said, “Tonight, I’m thinking about Mark’s wife, family and colleagues who’ve sadly lost a man we all loved and admired. W”
Yesterday, I lost a friend, who dedicated his life to protecting wildlife in some of East Africa’s most renowned national parks. Mark Jenkins, and his son Peter, were tragically killed when flying over Tsavo National Park while conducting an aerial patrol.
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 9, 2022
Tonight, I’m thinking about Mark’s wife, family and colleagues who’ve sadly lost a man we all loved and admired. W
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 9, 2022
The area that Jenkins and his son were patrolling had been reportedly entered by herders and their animals for pasture. This started a conflict between them and the Kenyan authorities. The Frankfurt Zoological Society has said that Jenkins was killed during a flight for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, as per Daily Mail. "Kenya Wildlife Service and David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) teams are at the scene to investigate the circumstances of the crash," Coast regional police Titus Karuri said. "KWS wishes to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased."
The Prince of Wales is an active participant in many wildlife conservation projects. More recently, he had encouraged the world to not be distracted and lose sight of the importance of protecting the natural world. “We must not pass on the baton to our children and grandchildren, apologizing for our lack of collective action. Instead, we must do all we can to support those who support our natural world, often at great risk to themselves,” he said at the Tusk Conservation Awards, according to Vanity Fair.