Michael Brudenell-Bruce, the Marquess of Ailesbury, was found dead on the patio at the home of his long-term partner, Teresa Marshall de Paoli.

Allegedly, he died after falling a balcony while letting his cat, Honeybun, out of a first-floor window.

His partner of 37 years found him in a pool of blood on the concrete paving stones.

Speaking to The Sun, Marshall de Paoli said, “It was a freak accident. He was covered in blood. I said to him, ‘Oh, my darling, what has happened?’, but he was dead.”

She then added that police believed she killed him, but “there had not been a row – I hadn’t hit him”.

“I think the cat got her head stuck and he pushed [the window] up and lost his balance, and he fell onto the patio,” she said. “He fell, breaking the roses on the wall as he fell.”

“He could have been lying there an hour, an hour and a half. He was cold and very pale.

“I got a cushion and put it under his head. I dialled 999 and said my partner has had an accident.

“The ambulance and police was here within seven minutes and a police officer, a woman said he was dead.

“A Police officer said death was instant. The police treated it as a crime.”

Marshall de Paoli was later allowed to see her late husband again and spray his body with his favorite aftershave.

Michael Brudenell-Bruce was a former Eton student, a Royal Horse Guards captain, and a stockbroker. His family and friends are grieving his sudden and tragic loss. He was a relative of Prince Harry’s ex Florence Brudenell-Bruce, a model and actress.