Ben Goldsmith, whose 15-year-old daughter Iris died in a quad bike accident at his family farm, has spoken of his hurt and loss in a tweet.
“Dear God, please can I have my beautiful, brilliant, kind little girl back, please God,” he wrote on Thursday night. “And if not, please take extra special care of her. I love her so so much and I’m so proud of her. It hurts me so much I can’t describe.”
The tweet was accompanied by a photograph of Iris, who became trapped when the vehicle she was riding on Monday overturned at the farm near the village of North Brewham in Somerset.
Dear God, please can I have my beautiful, brilliant, kind little girl back, please God. And if not, please take extra special care of her. I love her so so much and I’m so proud of her. It hurts me so much I can’t describe. pic.twitter.com/HfRlvDB1e8
— Ben Goldsmith (@BenGoldsmith) July 11, 2019
Iris was the oldest of Goldsmith’s three children with his first wife, Kate Rothschild.
Goldsmith is the youngest of three children that the late billionaire James Goldsmith had with his third wife, Lady Annabel,. His sister is Jemima Khan and his brother is the Conservative MP and former London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith.
Iris attended Wycombe Abbey, an independent girl’s boarding school in Buckinghamshire, and had recently started her summer holidays.
The school’s headteacher, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said: “We were all shocked to learn from the family of Iris’s tragic death. We extend our deepest sympathies to her parents and family at this sad, sad time.
“Iris was sparky, inquisitive with an effervescent, sunny personality, which lit up all around her.
“The whole school community is devastated by such a tragic loss of a happy, well respected, successful young woman.
“Iris will be hugely missed by all of us at Wycombe Abbey and, in particular, of course, by all her many friends. Iris’s family are very much in our thoughts at this very difficult time.”
