The Scottish estate owner with Celtic Curse who slept so much he was called 'half man, half mattress'

It was only when his cousin went to the doctor after a long period of “not feeling great” that a diagnosis of haemochromatosis followed.

Sir George, who owns Fyvie Estate in Aberdeenshire, was diagnosed around four years ago. His sister, Miranda McHardy, was also identified as a carrier of the gene variant that causes the condition.

Sir George said: “My cousin was asked if any of her relations had any health problems and she said ‘yes, actually, Miranda’. Miranda had had heart failure, kidney failure, liver failure and she had been ill her whole life.”

Haemochromatosis is an overload of iron in the blood that, if left untreated, can start to attack the organs and cause serious illness.

Normal iron levels in the blood are around 100 but, following testing, it emerged Mrs McHardy’s levels were at 5,000 while her brothers were at around 1,200.

Sir George said: “I was always feeling a bit tired in the afternoons and one chap christened me ‘half man, half mattress’. I could fall asleep every afternoon without any problem. I just presumed it was me getting old.”

Ms McHardy, 59, of Banchory, died from complications from gaemochromatosis in 2023.

Sir George continues to be treated for the condition by undergoing venesections, which remove blood from the body to bring down iron levels in a process much like giving blood.

He said the ill health of other family members throughout time started to make sense following diagnosis.

“Genetically, our grandmother must have had it,” he said. “She was in a wheelchair aged 55, but it was put down as rheumatism. My grandfather and father both had heart problems and were always feeling tired and spent most of the time asleep.”

Sir George initially had six months of fortnightly venesections, which removes blood to bring down iron levels, and now undergoes the procedure every six months.

“Once the iron levels went down, the tiredness went away,” he said. “I feel a lot more alert during the day.”

Sir George addd: “The cure is not drugs, the cure is simply becoming a blood donor.”

Since Mrs McHardy's death, her family and friends have been trying to raise awareness of the condition.

Screening of people in 25,000 households in north-east Scotland was supported in part by money raised by the family for Haemochromatosis UK.