Philippa was my first cousin (p6), the only daughter of my father’s half-brother Joseph Seilern (Uncle Mani).
She died of kidney failure on January 17, 2018, after two days in the hospital in Lagos, (Portugal).
The following day, I received a call from Eden Nylen, the family housekeeper in Monte Carlo, who gave me the sad news.
Her call took me by surprise—not only because I had not seen Philippa in over thirty years, but also because of what she went on to tell me. The explanation she gave was totally unexpected.
Here is an excerpt from Eden’s notarized deposition (p.24):
“Miss Philippa called me from Lagos before her hip operation in April 2017 with the following instructions: in case something should happen to her, I was to call Mr. Peter Seilern Senior (PS Sr.) in Switzerland.
I asked for his number, and she told me to find it in the family register. When I looked it up, I confirmed with her that it was in Switzerland, and she answered, ‘Yes.’
I asked her why she was giving me these instructions, and she replied, ‘Just in case something happens to me.’ I then asked, ‘How about I go and tell your cousin (note Boy)?’ and Philippa replied, ‘Do not tell anyone from my Monaco family.’
Her Monte Carlo driver, Danny Cabellon, was beside me at the time and witnessed this phone call.”
That Philippa had asked her housekeeper to notify only me suggested that, in some way, she may have wished me to help her—or at least to stand as a witness to what might follow.
The very next day I flew to Lagos. Apart from signing papers at the mortuary, visiting her house, and meeting both housekeepers (from Monte Carlo and Lagos), there was little I could do.
When I asked Jinny Harman, the Englishwoman who oversaw Philippa’s affairs in Lagos, who legally owned the house, her reply was direct but troubling: “I have been instructed not to provide you with that information.”
Who was giving those instructions? And why such secrecy? This was not normal.
Over time, further inconsistencies began to emerge—suggesting that the disposal of Philippa’s estate may not have been managed in accordance with her true wishes.