A British man who served the Queen Mother and knew the British royal family for more than 40 years has passed away from an asbestos-related disease. The man, the Queen Mother’s former private secretary Sir Alastair Sturgis Aird, was allegedly was exposed to the asbestos that ultimately took his life while employed at Clarence House.

He was 78 at the time of his death last September, and a recent coroner’s inquiry into the man’s death confirmed that he perished from peritoneal mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, has no known cure. The disease may affect the lungs, heart, or tissues in the abdominal cavity (known as pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal mesothelioma, respectively).

Mesothelioma typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, which can include extreme shortness of breath or persistent cough. However, once the disease has been diagnosed after the onset of initial symptoms, most mesothelioma sufferers die within 2 years, as was the case with Sir Aird. Exposure to asbestos can also cause benign scarring or the lining of the lungs, known as diffuse pleural thickening or pleural plaques.

Sir Aird’s wife, Lady Fiona Aird, said: “Alastair always believed that he must have been exposed to asbestos at Clarence House.”

West Dorset Coroner Michael Johnston added: “I think the likelihood is that he was exposed to asbestos while working at Clarence House. I am going to record a verdict that he died of an industrial disease.”

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