Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the renowned British explorer celebrated for record-breaking expeditions including an unsupported Antarctic crossing and a pole-to-pole circumnavigation, made his last public appearance via pre-recorded video at a Royal Geographical Society gala on 23 October 2024. Since then, he has disappeared entirely from public view, with unopened letters returned and customary Christmas cards never arriving. Nearly two years later, his close friend Michael Kobold has gone public about the explorer's absence, stating that only a handful of individuals know his whereabouts and expressing shock at how a national hero could end up in such a situation.

The article suggests that events leading to his disappearance may be connected to the death of his first wife Virginia in 2004, after which he remarried in 2005 to Louise Millington-Cotes, a horse trainer 23 years his junior. Kobold's account indicates that efforts to locate Fiennes have involved King Charles and actor Joseph Fiennes (his cousin), including what is described as an "undercover operation" at a London care home where the explorer was suspected to be staying at one point. The exact circumstances of his absence remain unclear, though his final video appearance noted he was unwell.