Why is Sir Frederick Barclay’s name not on his father’s gravestone?
You might have noticed that the family of the billionaire Brexiteer Barclay brothers is feuding. And in the most spectacular, Shakespearean fashion.
The normally reclusive clan’s affairs were thrust into the spotlight this week as it emerged in a High Court hearing that Alistair Barclay, the youngest son of Sir David Barclay, had been caught secretly recording the conservatory of the Ritz Hotel, owned by the Barclays. That is the room Sir Frederick Barclay (Sir David’s twin brother) likes to unwind by smoking a cigar, or to spend one-on-one time with his daughter Amanda.
Sir Frederick and Amanda, his only daughter, are now bringing a legal action against Alistair as well as his older brothers Aidan and Howard Barclay and Aidan’s son Andrew, all of whom are alleged to have been aware of the secret recordings carried out over several months.
But this isn’t the only indication that relations in the family have broken down in recent months and years. Nor is it the darkest incident.
Alphaville got a tip that Sir David Barclay, 85 years old, had installed a gravestone for the twins' father, also called Frederick, without his brother Frederick's name on it, in Mortlake Cemetery, in West London. So we thought we would go and check it out.
As you might have guessed from the headline, and as you can see, Sir Frederick’s name is not there, and neither are the names of five of the other six siblings. One sibling is on the gravestone, however: the twins’ older brother, Andrew Roy Barclay. Family members not involved in the arrangements of this headstone are said to feel “deeply hurt”.....MORE
You can also see that two other people -- John George Capsalis and Michael Stavros Kapsalis -- are apparently buried in the same grave. They don’t seem to be connected to the family, and indeed when Frederick Hugh Barclay died in 1947, the family was not rich, so a shared grave would probably have been quite normal.
Both times Alphaville visited the grave, there were flowers on it, though the second time the flowers were slightly wilted....
Just as, or even more, interesting is her story in the paper:
I probably shouldn't say "her" story, she had a couple helpers.
