Lady Mona K
Encyclopedia
Lady Mona K (formerly Lady Ghislaine) is a luxury motor yacht
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
built by Amels in 1986.
Design
Built in 1986 by Amels of Vlissingen, NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, she was the first of numerous classic Jon Bannenberg
Jon Bannenberg
Jon Bannenberg was a yacht designerBorn in Australia, Bannenberg studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 1952 he moved to London and his career began to morph towards its final destination: from music to stage design to opening an interior design shop with his first wife and ultimately...
designed super yachts. With a well-flared bow, lozenge-shaped ports, vertical windows and mullions, and handsomely sculpted mast complex, she is a classic work of designer Bannenberg. For her time, she was a ground-breaking yacht as well. Among her many trendsetting features, which is almost standard today, is a gymnasium on the upper deck that can be open for fresh air or closed to the elements. Lady Mona K features later classical Banneberg signatures, including use of symmetry and asymmetry to create spaces that are inviting for their spaciousness as well as their intimacy.
Robert Maxwell
Under the name Lady Ghislaine (named after his daughter), she became both the epitome of his power, as well as the place of his death for the billionaire British media tycoon Robert MaxwellRobert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
. In 1991, she was the base for Maxwell as he negotiated with the unions over his purchase of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
.
Maxwell's death
On November 5, 1991, at the age of 68, Maxwell was on board Lady Ghislaine, which was cruising off the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. Maxwell's body was subsequently found floating in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. He was buried in Jerusalem.
The official verdict was accidental drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
, though some commentators have surmised that he may have committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
,
and others that he was murdered
Murder in English law
Murder is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. It is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another either intending to cause death or intending to cause serious injury .-Actus reus:The definition of the actus reus Murder is an offence under the...
.