It is a truism to say that the dog is largely what his master makes of him: he can be savage and dangerous, untrustworthy, cringing and fearful; or he can be faithful and loyal, courageous and the best of companions and allies.

The two remained married until her death from stomach cancer in February 2004. On 18 July 2012 Fiennes was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Glamorgan. He led expeditions up the White Nile on a hovercraft in 1969 and on Norway's Jostedalsbreen Glacier in 1970.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records he is the world's greatest living explorer. In May 2009 at the age of 65 he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.