THE husband of a pub landlady found dead on a beach during their honeymoon in the Maldives was being comforted at home by a friend yesterday.

The body of Sharon Duval was found just hours before she and husband Nick were due to fly home and resume running their pub, the Highwayman in Kidlington.

Mr Duval, who had been with Sharon since 2004 and married her last year, returned home from the Indian Ocean island-chain late on Sunday night.

He was too upset to speak to the Oxford Mail yesterday.

Instead, his friend Neil Woolerton said family and friends were planning to pay tribute to the 42-year-old landlady.

He confirmed police had interviewed Mr Duval, a global accounts director with BT, as part of the investigation.

He insisted officers had ruled out any suspicious circumstances.

The couple, who married at Woodstock Register Office in September 2009, were staying on the island of Kuredhu for a belated honeymoon.

Friends and family described her death as “a tragic loss of life”. Mr Woolerton, 36, from Loughborough, said: “Sharon’s death was caused by drowning and a doctor has that on the death certificate. There are no suspicious circumstances.

“Nick and other witnesses were interviewed by police out in the Maldives as part of the investigation’s standard procedure.

“We will be making a tribute to Sharon from those that knew her best in the next few days.”

Sources close to the family said the pair had been eating at a restaurant before she vanished. It is not thought she had been reported missing.

Her body was found at 12.30am on Saturday.

It is not yet clear if a full post-mortem examination has been carried out and whether Mrs Duval’s body has been flown home.

A Foreign Office spokesman added: “We stand ready to provide consular assistance.”