DEVASTATING tragedy has struck an aristocratic Dorset family for the second time in a few months.

The 11th Earl of Shaftesbury has died at the age of 27 having inherited the title only two months ago because of his father's murder.

The new Lord Shaftesbury is believed to have suffered a heart attack at his brother Nicholas's flat in New York on May 15.

Their mother, Lady Shaftesbury, has flown to the United States to recover the body of her elder son who had been seen on the family estate at Wimborne St Giles the week before his untimely death.

Director of Public Affairs in the New York City Medical Examiner's office, Ellen Borakove, confirmed the death.

"We performed an autopsy but before we can determine the cause of his death we have to do some more tests," she said.

"We will have the information in about 10 days."

Family friend Tim Palmer, leader of Dorset County Council, said: "He was an exceptionally likeable and talented young man of enormous promise who had just had to deal with another terrible tragedy that was ghastly in itself.

"We're all very shocked and devastated by this."

The family hit the international headlines when the 10 th earl went missing in the South of France in November, sparking a massive search.

His estranged third wife Jamila Ben M'Barek, 37, a former night-club hostess, and her brother Mohammed Ben M'Barek, were arrested in March for his murder.

The body was found in woods in the Alps 30 miles from Nice on April 15.

The tenth Lord Shaftesbury spent his time between his home in Hove and on the French Riviera where he frequented night-clubs and bars.

Meanwhile the family seat St Giles House fell into disrepair and several highly-priced family treasures were sent to top salesrooms.

When he went missing, his second wife Lady Christina, daughter of a Swedish ambassador to the Court of St James who still lives on the estate, called in the police.

Although divorced from the 66-year-old earl she retained the title as the mother of his heirs and they had always kept in touch.

The 10th earl had inherited the title - aged only 22 - directly from his grandfather when his own father died suddenly from heart disease.

In spite of his playboy image he was said to be shy, affable and devoted to conservation.

The family descends from William the Conqueror and the most famous scion was the seventh earl, the Victorian philanthropist who campaigned to stop child labour and whom the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus commemmorates.

It is thought the 11th earl, whose names were Anthony Nils Christian, intended to have a more hands-on approach to the 9,000-acre estate.

A villager who preferred not to be named said: "We're all still very much in shock, especially after the death of his father. We all feel for Lady Shaftesbury."

First published: May 19