The statue of Eros in London, unaware that the great-great-grandson of the man it honors was brought down by love and sex – which is exactly what the Greek God represents.
The monument in Piccadilly Circus marks the philanthropic work of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, but is that of his descendant, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, whose name goes down in history.
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The youngest aristocrat, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, had a desire for alcohol, drugs and call girls that would have put his ancestor to shame.
He was said to have paid £4,000 a night to sex workers after drinking in bars in the south of France.
Sometimes, though, he just wanted to talk.
And it was one of these nights spent with female escort and former Playboy model Jamila M’Barek that would ultimately lead to his murder.
Later, the count made her his third wife, but, after asking for a divorce, he suddenly disappeared.
His disappearance in November 2004 became global news, with theories that the tycoon’s huge debts or the Mafia could be to blame.
Anthony’s remains were found in a forest ravine near Cannes five months later.
Jamila was arrested and in court prosecutors alleged she paid her brother Mohammed £130,000 to kill him.
A jury found the M’Barek brothers guilty of the count’s murder in 2007 and they were both jailed for 25 years.
She spent just nine years behind bars before being released, while Mohammed is still in prison.
In new Channel 5 documentary A Very British Sex Scandal: The Earl & The Escort, which airs tonight, Jamila talks about the shocking case.
Still able to use the title of Dowager Countess of Shaftesbury, she denies wanting Anthony dead.
But she says of his family: “I would like to explain everything to them. I would tell them, ‘I’m sorry for the pain you felt.’
‘It broke my life too’
“I feel sorry for his family because Anthony was a very nice person, very generous. I’m sorry about what happened.
The most illustrious of the Shaftesbury dynasty was the 7th Earl, who campaigned against child labor and in favor of education in the 19th century.
Both Shaftesbury Avenue in London and the statue of Eros – which was officially named the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain – were named in his honour.
In fact, it is the Greek god Anteros, avenger of unrequited love, who stands at the top of the landmark.
I feel sorry for his family because Anthony was a very nice, very generous person. I regret what happened
Jamila
However, it is popularly known as Eros.
When the philanthropist’s great-great-grandson Anthony became the 10th Earl in 1961 at the age of 22, he was among the ten richest men in the United Kingdom.
But the maintenance of his dilapidated 70-bedroom St Giles House in Dorset – a Grade I listed 17th-century stately home – has drained many of those funds.
Equally damaging were the expensive gifts he gave to the women in his life.
And it wasn’t necessarily his first two wives, Bianca de Paolis, 12 years his senior, and Christina Montan, with whom he had two children.
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After his second divorce in 2000, Anthony moved to the south of France and reportedly spent more than £1 million on former Penthouse magazine model Nathalie Lions.
He also regularly called the head of the escort agency, Catherine Gurtler, looking for women for companionship, costing thousands of dollars each time.
Gurtler says: “He would always call me late at night. I think he was someone who was a little depressed.”
Worried that he would ruin Shaftesbury’s fortune, the family placed much of his inheritance in a trust fund.
Jamila did not know this when, in February 2002, Gurtler sent her to the house of Count Côte d’Azur.
The mother of two, who claimed at her trial to have been linked to actors Bruce Willis and George Clooney, as well as tennis ace Bjorn Borg – which all three denied – was used to sleeping with wealthy men.
Anthony differed from the other clients because, on the first night, they did not have sex.
She recalls: “He was drunk and had cocaine on the table. He asked if I wanted some and I said no. He talked all night.
When they married in the Netherlands in November 2002, Anthony gifted Jamila a holiday apartment in a windmill and a half-million-pound apartment in Cannes.
She says: “The first year was perfect. I had my own house. I was with my children.”
In fact, the earl was struggling to maintain his lavish lifestyle, having accumulated credit card bills and tax debts.
I loved Anthony and had a good life with him. Of course, it broke my life too
Jamila
Soon, Jamila claims, he was drinking heavily again and seeking the company of high-class call girls.
He also formed serious relationships, including with Nadia Orche in the south of France.
Brian Hook, a former New Scotland Yard detective, says: “At this point the earl is withdrawing huge amounts of money almost daily.”
Added to this dangerous cocktail was Jamila’s brother, Mohammed, a former football player with a violent temper.
Anthony told Jamila in April 2004 that he wanted a divorce, which could put the apartment in Versailles, the villa in Nice and the £4 million she would inherit at risk.
In November of that year, the count was last seen, leaving a hotel in Cannes, after telling the barman that he would return to finish the drink.
At first, officers thought he had planned to disappear.
But Jamila knew Mohammed had killed the 66-year-old, although she tells the documentary it was in self-defence during an argument at their home.
Still, detectives who tapped his phone found conversations about Anthony’s body being moved.
The data also placed her in the area where her husband’s body was dumped just days before he disappeared, and there was evidence that she made payments to Mohammed.
Tragically, a month after the Earl’s body was found, his eldest son, 27-year-old Anthony, died of a heart attack.
Jamila, who now lives in Switzerland, says: “I loved Anthony and had a good life with him. Of course, it broke my life too.”
Words unlikely to comfort Anthony’s surviving son, Nicholas, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.
- A very British sex scandal: The Earl & the Escort, tonight, Channel 5, 9pm.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
