A Queen’s footman who carried Princess Diana’s coffin died freezing and homeless after an administration error left him without emergency accommodation.
Malcolm Livingstone, 44, appeared in images across the globe as he carried Princess Diana’s coffin in 1997 – and worked at Buckingham Palace for more than a decade.
But the former soldier suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following military service in Iraq and went on to struggle with alcohol.
Malcolm found himself homeless during the pandemic but repeatedly reached out for help with housing services – before being found in a bush outside a church during freezing temperatures.
In November 2021 – when a government-backed pandemic scheme was in place to make sure all rough sleepers were housed – Malcolm approached King’s Lynn Night Shelter in Norfolk on two occasions.
Details of accommodation were sent each time to specialist service, Merchants Terrace, who was meant to notify the local council – however the forms were not completed and a room was not found, reports MailOnline.
Malcolm was issued with a sleeping bag and blanket but was tragically found dead by a passer-by on November 16, 2021, an inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
Temperatures had plunged to almost zero degrees when he died in the night.
Much of the seven-hour inquest hearing into his death focused on the failure to allocate Malcolm emergency accommodation following his first contact with support services 11 days before he died.
It also highlighted errors in record-keeping which allowed Malcolm to slip through the support net.
The post-mortem found the cause of death to be hypothermia, with a significant background contribution from liver cirrhosis.
A toxicology report found no drugs or alcohol in his system.
It is believed Malcolm had served as an RAF sniper in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.
Malcolm’s father Allan Livingstone said although there were clear shortfalls in the way his son was cared for, he accepted “everybody did their best” to help him.
And he added: “He cared so much for others that he forgot to care for himself.”
Shortly before he died Malcolm had been living with his parents in West Winch.
Due to his recurring drinking problems had been asked to leave temporarily, and although his parents continued to support him with meals and help to find accommodation, he had then been “sofa surfing” before finding himself with nowhere to stay.
Recording a narrative verdict, Norfolk assistant coroner Samantha Goward said there had been “numerous missed opportunities” to help him.
