Editing Michael Bentine (section)

==Family and health==

Bentine was married twice.  With his first wife Marie Barradell, married 1941–1947, he had a daughter:
* Elaine (1942–1983)

In 1949, he married his second wife, Clementina Stuart, a [[Royal Ballet, London|Royal Ballet]] dancer. They had four children.

His two eldest daughters died from cancer in the 1980s. His elder son was killed with a pilot friend when a [[Piper PA-18 Super Cub]] crashed into a hillside at [[Ditcham Park]] Woods near [[Petersfield, Hampshire|Petersfield]], Hampshire, on 28 August 1971. Their bodies and the aircraft were not found until October 1971. The [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch|AAIB]] after an 11-month investigation found that the aircraft went into clouds when taking action to avoid power cables while flying low in poor visibility, and subsequently, went out of control.{{sfn|AAIB|1972}}{{sfn|Glasgow Herald|1971}} Bentine's subsequent investigation into regulations governing private airfields resulted in his writing a report for [[Special Branch (Metropolitan Police)|Special Branch]] into the use of personal aircraft in smuggling operations. He fictionalised much of the material in his novel ''Lords of the Levels''.

From 1975 until his death in 1996, he and his wife spent their winters at a second home in [[Palm Springs, California]], US.

Shortly before his death from [[prostate cancer]] at the age of 74, he was visited in hospital by [[Charles III of the United Kingdom|Prince Charles]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Michael Benthine, Goon, author and man of many parts, dies at 74|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/michael-benthine-goon-author-and-man-of-many-parts-dies-at-74-1.110790|access-date=2021-06-18|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref>