A 44-year-old private banker arrested on suspicion of being the so-called Putney Pusher has been found dead.
Nicholas Brandram was arrested at his home in Chiswick, west London, on June 15 on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
The arrest was linked to a notorious incident on May 5, 2017, when a jogger appeared to shove a female pedestrian into the path of a double-decker bus on Putney Bridge. The woman was only spared after the driver reacted with lightning speed.
Police searched Mr Brandram’s £1.4million home before rearresting him on suspicion of possessing Class A and Class B drugs, believed to be cocaine and cannabis.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘At 7.15pm on Tuesday, September 15, officers and the London Ambulance Service attended an address in Chiswick, Hounslow, after a man was found unresponsive inside a property.
‘Sadly, a 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed. At this time, his death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner in due course.’
Mr Brandram, a grandson of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, Queen Victoria’s last female descendant, was a director at HSBC’s private bank. He was suspended following his arrest.
His identity was not disclosed when he was arrested for legal reasons, although his name became the focus of intense online speculation. He can now be named following his death.
Mr Brandram was a decorated former British Army captain who served with the Scots Guards in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his military service after graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in philosophy and psychology.
The following year, he appeared before City of London Magistrates’ Court after colliding with a female cyclist at Hyde Park Corner on March 6.
Nicholas Brandram, who was arrested on suspicion of being the Putney Pusher, has been found dead. He is pictured in 2013
Nine years ago, police released dramatic CCTV footage showing the moment a jogger appeared to push a woman into the path of an approaching bus on Putney Bridge
The jogger appeared to push the victim into the path of the bus. The driver swerved, missing the woman’s head by inches
Mr Brandram in a recent photograph while working at HSBC’s private bank
The court heard that Mr Brandram crashed his 1948 Harley-Davidson into the woman before driving away without leaving his details or checking whether she was injured.
Representing himself, he told magistrates: ‘I ride a bicycle myself and realise the risks.
‘I’m an upstanding member of society and have recently resigned as a member of the British Army and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
‘I have a very loud bike so it’s not impossible I collided with her without me realising it. At the same time with such a big bike I don’t know how I didn’t feel the collision.’
He pleaded guilty to a count each of driving without due care and attention and of failing to stop after a road accident.
He received five penalty points, a £200 fine and was told to pay £105 compensation. Mr Brandram thanked magistrates and said he would pay the fine immediately.
The Putney Pusher incident took place during rush hour on May 5, 2017 at about 7.40am.
A woman was walking southwards on Putney Bridge when the jogger approached her from the opposite direction.
There was plenty of room on the footpath for him to run around her safely, but instead he shoved her onto the road – directly in the path of an incoming 430 bus going at 12mph.
Thanks to the rapid reactions of the driver, Oliver Salbris, the bus missed the 33-year-old victim’s head by inches, and she survived largely physically unscathed.
The jogger continued his run across Putney Bridge without so much as a backward glance.
After the vehicle stopped, passers-by rushed to help the shaken woman – who has never been publicly identified.
The jogger returned in the opposite direction about 15 minutes later, passing the victim again while she was still being assisted on the bridge. He ignored her calls to stop.
Mr Brandram was a decorated former British Army captain who served with the Scots Guards in Iraq , Bosnia and Afghanistan
In April, Mr Salbris told the Mail that he would never forget what he saw.
‘I always think about the case and I still drive over Putney Bridge several times a day,’ he said.
‘Whenever I’m on the bridge, I look very carefully at the pedestrians on the pavement, I just can’t help it. I wouldn’t say it haunts me, but it’s not something I can easily forget.
‘I’m glad my reactions were quick on that day, or it would have ended very differently, both for me and the woman who was pushed. Her head was only a few centimetres from the bus and the wheel, even after I swerved to avoid her.’
At the time of the original appeal, the suspect was described as a white man in his early to mid-30s, with a stocky build and short brown hair. He was wearing a grey T-shirt and dark blue shorts.
Metropolitan Police detectives interviewed 50 men and arrested three suspects, including an American investment banker – who was able to prove ‘irrefutably’ that he was in the US at the time.
No suspect was ever charged, and the investigation was closed in 2018 before new information led to Mr Brandram’s arrest.
Earlier this month, he was released under investigation to give police time to complete outstanding enquiries.
The Met said at the time: ‘On Monday, June 15, a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
‘The arrest relates to an incident on May 5, 2017, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in Putney.
‘Once in police custody, he was also arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A and Class B drugs.
‘He has since been released under investigation while enquiries continue.’
Mr Brandram – a grandson of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, Victoria’s last female descendant – was a director at HSBC’s private bank before being suspended after his arrest
Mr Brandram’s late father, City executive Paul Brandram, was the only child of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark and Major Richard Campbell Andrew Brandram, who served with the British Army during the Second World War.
Princess Katherine was Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter, a first cousin of Prince Philip, and the daughter of King Constantine I, who ruled Greece between 1913 and 1922.
Queen Sofia of Spain, Paul Brandram’s cousin, told of her ‘great sadness’ after his death in 2020 at the age of 72.
Like his father, Nicholas has had a successful career in the City, working at leading stockbrokers Killik & Co and Israeli lender Bank Leumi before moving to HSBC, where he managed the assets of wealthy individuals.
He was nominated Private Banker of the Year for 2026.
