A retired sailor in England is set to inherit his estranged sister's multimillion-dollar fortune, which would have gone to the British government.

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The Mail on Sunday reported that John Veal, 59, said he had not seen his sister, Janet, since 1963. Veal and his brother, Richard, who lives in the United States, are her closest blood relatives.

"I am a simple, down-to-Earth man and this has come as a huge shock. I often wondered what had happened to my sister over the years and I never saw or heard of her again," Veal told the newspaper.

Janet Veal reportedly made her fortune as a fashion model. Some of her fortunes are also believed to have come from her second husband, a successful civil engineer. She left an estate worth some $7.9 million when she died last June of heart disease.

After leaving her home in Lymington at age 18, Janet Veal rarely returned. Unknown to her family, she married twice but had no children, The Mail said.

Under British law, if no one comes forward within 12 years of the death, an inheritance will go to the national treasury.