Bear Grylls secretly attempted to recover Pippa Middleton's brother-in-law's body from Mt Everest
ABERSOCH, WALES: The remains of Pippa Middleton's brother-in-law, who died in a mountaineering mishap hours after becoming the youngest Briton to climb the world's highest peak, is being sought after by TV adventurer Bear Grylls, who is leading a covert trip to Mount Everest. Earlier this year, the Chief Scout, who is acquainted with the Princess of Wales, led an expedition to Mount Everest in an effort to locate Michael Matthews' body.
Following the lead of his friend Grylls, who had climbed Everest the year before at the age of 23, Matthews perished in a mountaineering mishap in 1999 at the age of 22. He was the brother of James Matthews, a former race car driver, and current hedge fund manager who is the husband of Pippa Middleton. Grylls, 48, the son of the late Conservative MP Sir Michael Grylls, was friends with Michael and his brother, 'Made in Chelsea' actor Spencer Matthews, as per reports from NY daily paper.
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“In fact, we had an expedition up Everest to try to recover the body of a good friend’s brother, who climbed the year after I was there, but was never found,” Grylls said. "We really try. We had the best team in the world." Finding his body is a top priority for the Matthews family.
Speaking at Oxford Union, the former Etonian said: "We had a team of, like, ten Nepali guys and some other amazing western climbers. We managed to recover a body. It wasn’t Michael’s; he was a Nepalese climber." Grylls, whose show 'Running Wild With Bear Grylls' has drawn notable guests such as former US President Barack Obama and actors Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller, added, “The story hasn’t come out yet, So I’m not going to talk too much about it, but it was a very special moment for [Michael’s] family. It’s the reality of high-altitude mountaineering, as people pay the highest price up there.”
Spencer Matthews apparently started filming a documentary about his late brother's final days before he died while descending Mount Everest in March of this year. The 33-year-old founder of CleanCo was reported to be "hugely passionate" about making the trip and following in his brother's footsteps. The 'emotional' project, in which Spencer visited his brother's final resting place, was believed to have the support of his parents and his brother James, who is married to Pippa Middleton.
A source said at the time: “Spencer’s documentary on Michael and his final days is in the early stages and Disney+ has shown interest. Although the Matthews family was never able to recover Michael’s body, there is a guide who believes he knows his final resting place." The source continued, “It’s a hugely emotional project and it’s going to be a very disturbing ride for a lot of reasons, but Spencer is passionate about embarking on it if she can make it work.”