THE courage of a Scots aristocrat in his fight against drug addiction and his efforts to help others struggling to escape ``the dark tunnel of despair'' were praised yesterday when he was buried in a small Borders churchyard.
Among the 150-strong congregation who heard the tribute to Mr Charles Tennant, the wayward son of one of Princess Margaret's oldest friends, was former Transport Minister Paul Channon whose daughter, Olivia, died from a heroin overdose at Oxford University in 1986.
Mr Tennant, 39, a former heroin addict, died on October 19 at the Edinburgh home he shared with his wife, Sheilagh, and small son, Cody.
Yesterday, his parents, Lord Glenconner, a close friend of the Princess, and Lady Anne Glenconner, a lady-in-waiting to her, were surrounded by many members of a family which has seen tragedy before.
The Glenconners' son, Henry, died in 1990 from Aids and their surviving son, Christopher, who had to be supported down the church aisle by a friend at the funeral service, was badly injured in a motorcycle accident in Belize three years earlier.
The tribute to the bravery of Charles Tennant, who had struggled to rebuild a life shattered by drug abuse and who died from pneumonia and hepatitis C, was made by the Rev Stanley Hood who took the funeral service at Traquair Kirk, near the Glenconner family home and Innerleithen.
Mr Hood, who had married the couple there in 1993, said during the 40-minute service, which was also attended by rock singer Fish and The Clash lead singer Jo Strummer, that Mr Tennant's death had been ``untimely''.
The minister conducted the burial service in the churchyard where Mr Tennant was laid to rest beside his grandfather near the family plot.
Mr Hood said that among the many memories was Mr Tennant's years of addiction ``and the courageous struggle against it in his adult life''.
He praised Mr Tennant's work and his compassion for people addicted to drugs and said: ``We pray especially for all the young people who are tempted into drugs and struggling to escape addiction and ``the dark tunnel of despair''.
Mr Tennant's friend, John McEwen, in another tribute, said Mr Tennant had ``a magical bright light quality''.
Describing his friend as ``bursting with energy and hope'' and a man of courage, honesty, and dignity, he said Mr Tennant never complained and had been ``a spark in the dark, an exceptional person''.
He read words his friend had written in the early 90s in which he said: ``I definitely believe in a force for good in the universe. I am glad I am what I am. I have no regrets. I have loved and hoped and today is a sunny day. No doubt about it. Life is worth the living.''
Mrs Sheilagh Tennant, watched by other members of the family including her husband's two sisters, read a poem.
Lord and Lady Glenconner, who disinherited their son because of his addiction, had long links with Mustique, the Caribbean island favoured by Princess Margaret as a holiday resort.
Many local people joined the family at the funeral where Lady Glenconner wept as the coffin, covered in lilies, was carried from the church.
As the coffin was lowered into the grave, Lord Glenconner held the arm of the distressed Christopher Tennant.
Mrs Sheilagh Tennant indicated after Mr Tennant's death 10 days ago that earlier family rifts involving her husband had been healed.
Her husband started using heroin in his late teens and was an addict at 20.
Recently, Mr Tennant, who was disinherited after a number of incidents which embarrassed the family, had campaigned for a greater understanding of those with drug problems.
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