A Nazi hunter who cut his children and grandchildren out of his will in favour of his third wife was not pressured or manipulated, a High Court judge has ruled. “Lord” Peter Eden, who fled Nazi Germany and later tracked down war criminals for British intelligence, rewrote his will at the age of 98 – one year before his death in 2020 aged 99.
The revised document left all of his shares in a property company – worth around £2 million – to his wife of 20 years, “Lady” Joy Eden, now 85. She also inherited their £1.5 million home in Hampstead, north London.
His daughter Tamara Eden Goodchild challenged the will, claiming her father lacked the mental capacity to make the changes and had been subject to undue influence. She argued the court should uphold an earlier 2017 will, under which she and her sister Vanita Eden’s children would have received two-thirds of the shares.
However the judge, Mr Justice Dray, disagreed – concluding that Eden knew exactly what he was doing.
He said: “Although the family members might see it differently, it does not offend common sense. The instructions of Lord Eden were clear.”
Eden, who referred to himself as “Lord” despite uncertainty over the title, built a fortune in property after serving with the Royal Engineers and the Intelligence Corps during and after the Second World War.
He told the Imperial War Museum in 1998 that he had identified concentration camp officers and SS members and had helped track those involved in the massacre of British soldiers after Dunkirk.
The Times reported that a 2018 letter from Eden’s former solicitor had cast doubt on his capacity to amend the will – but that evidence from other lawyers and doctors supported the final 2019 version.
Goodchild had placed a legal caveat on the estate, freezing the distribution of assets for more than three years. That deadlock has now ended with a court-approved deal.
Joy Eden will receive 84% of the company shares. Tamara and Vanita Eden will receive 4% each. Vanita’s daughter and Tamara’s three children will split the remaining 8%.
Georgia Bedworth, representing Joy Eden, said: “Joy’s evidence is that her husband remained forceful and mentally sharp until he died.”
Joy Eden declined to comment following the ruling.
