AceShowbiz -

Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are on tour in Australia, received sad news during their stay Down Under. The brother of Prince William's step-mother Camilla Parker Bowles, Mark Shand, passed away in New York at the age of 62. Shand died due to a head injury he sustained after he reportedly fell outside the Gramercy Park Hotel on Tuesday, April 22.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were saddened to learn this morning of the tragic death of Mark Shand," reads a statement from the couple. "Their thoughts are with the Duchess of Cornwall and her family at this time."

Shand was a conservationist who wanted to protect elephants from extinction. He created a charity called Elephant Family and was attending a fundraising event prior to the fall.

"It is with deep sadness that we have to confirm that The Duchess of Cornwall's brother, Mark Shand, has today passed away in New York. Mr. Shand died in hospital as a result of a serious head injury which he sustained during a fall last night," a spokesperson from Clarence House said.

"The Duchess, The Prince of Wales and all her family members are utterly devastated by this sudden and tragic loss. Mark Shand was a man of extraordinary vitality, a tireless campaigner and conservationist whose incredible work through the Elephant Family and beyond remained his focus right up until his death," the statement continued.