Simon Howard: Coroner reveals cause of Castle Howard aristocrat's death

Simon Howard, who ran the stately home in North Yorkshire for more than 30 years after taking over from his father in 1984, was pronounced dead at York Hospital on February 27 in 2022.

Oliver Longstaff, assistant coroner for North Yorkshire, said the provisional cause of death was hypoglycemic encephalopathy - as he had an extremely low blood glucose level - insulin-dependent diabetes and epilepsy.

The coroner also said a traumatic brain injury, which Howard suffered during a fall in 2020, had also contributed to his death.

“That clearly creates the possibility that this is a death ultimately not due to natural causes and appropriate for an inquest,” he added.

Mr Longstaff opened an inquest into the death of the 66-year-old aristocrat, who lived in Welham Hall, Malton, today and said he will announce a date for the next hearing “in due course”.

Three months before his death, a judge ruled Howard would not be jailed for sexually abusing a young girl at his famous family estate in 1984, as a brain injury meant he could not stand trial.

He was given an absolute discharge at York Crown Court in November 2021, after a jury found that he committed indecent assault and incited a child to commit an indecent act during a trial of facts.

The jury was told that Howard was living in the gatehouse of Castle Howard, between York and Malton, when he committed the offences against a girl, who was six or seven at the time.

The victim reported the offences to the police in 2018 and Howard was later charged, but he suffered a brain injury during a fall before he could stand trial.

The jury decided that Howard committed both the acts following a week-long trial.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, said a delay in prosecuting Howard was “unacceptable” and he may have been able to stand trial if he had been charged earlier.

Mr Howard leaves his wife, Rebecca Sieff, and their twins, Octavia and Merlin, who are 20.

He was the third of four sons born to George Howard and he ran Castle Howard for over 30 years.

But in 2014, the management of the estate passed to his brother Nick following a disagreement. Their eldest brother, Henry, had died in 2008.

The house and estate are run by a company, Castle Howard Ltd, which had Simon and Nicholas as majority shareholders. Simon previously held the roles of chairman and managing director.

After his death, a Castle Howard estate spokesman said: "We are able to confirm that very sadly, Simon Howard has died, following an ongoing illness and recent complications with his diabetes. We would ask for the family to be afforded privacy at this difficult time."