When Sir Roger Moore died in 2017, he left behind a staggering estimated fortune of £80 million ($154 million).
But the James Bond star's immense wealth is now at the centre of an increasingly bitter fight between his widow, her son and her lawyer, the news.com.au reports.
The actor's fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup, should have inherited much of his estate after his death — but it has been frozen after her son, Hans Christian Knudsen, accused her lawyer of taking advantage of her.
Control of the estate is still being decided by the courts after Ms Tholstrup, 77, was placed into a guardianship, which is enforced after a person loses the capacity to make their own decisions.
That decision was reached after a court in Monaco was given details of some of Ms Tholstrup's financial transactions, including £2.2 ($4.2 million) million that was allegedly transferred to a New Zealand trust in 2018, a £479,000 ($920,664) gift given to her friends and £155,000 ($297,810) in legal fees paid to lawyer Per Troen between November 2017 to December 2018, according to the Daily Mail.
Mr Knudsen, 53, had argued his mother, who is also known as Kiki, has been "charmed" by Mr Troen — an accusation Ms Tholstrup strenuously denies. She also intends to appeal the guardianship decision.
In fact, the socialite has launched an extraordinary public attack against her son, telling the Danish press he was acting out after she withdrew his allowance.
Sir Roger Moore with fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
According to the Mirror, Ms Tholstrup has defended Mr Troen and her friendship with him.
"I have absolute trust in him and am, for the first time in my life, in charge of my own affairs with the family office, my lawyers and banks and have not been defrauded," she said.
She also claims she has supported her son for years, and "paid for almost everything he wanted".
"The whole nasty mess which this case has caused me comes about only because I just stopped paying my son his allowance," she said.
"I love my son and wanted for him to work for himself. He never has, and I thought if I stopped paying money to him he would start to work and act responsibly.
"He did not but rather has caused me a good deal of grief and expense by making untrue allegations."
CONTROVERSIAL ROMANCE
Sir Roger Moore played iconic spy James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985, beginning with Live and Let Die and ending with A View to a Kill.
Caroline Munro and Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me. Photo / Supplied
When he died at the age of 89 in 2017, he had a multimillion-dollar fortune, including luxury properties around the world.
He had three children — Geoffrey, Debbie and Christian — with former wife Luisa Mattioli, who he divorced in 2000 after falling for Ms Tholstrup.
At the time, the new romance strained Sir Roger's relationship with his children, although over time he and Ms Tholstrup repaired that rift, and they went on to marry in 2002.
Meanwhile, Ms Tholstrup had two children of her own with former husband Hans Christian Knudsen — Hans Christian junior and Christina Knudsen, who died at the age of 47 in 2016 following a battle with cancer.
