It is the duty of every rich and elderly lady to change her will from time to time, if only to keep her family on their toes.
But pity poor Frank O’Neill. The former Australian swimming champion made a pilgrimage to the Sydney Olympics a few years ago – and while he was away his wife decided to leave her £40million (73 + million US) fortune to her pet chimp, Kalu.
Patricia O’Neill, the daughter of the Countess of Kenmore, had been close to Kalu since finding her tied to a tree outside the home of the Argentinian Consul-General in war-torn Zaire.
She took the chimp back to her estate near Cape Town in South Africa and although the animal initially seemed “terrified and traumatised,” she soon settled in.
Whether or not the chimp was aware she and Mr O’Neill were rivals is unclear.
“Every time I swam in the pool, she used to run up and down and hit me on the head, but we had a great relationship,” said a sporting Mr O’Neill. Kalu also stole his cigarettes and drank his beer.
Via Virgin Media