Rolf Harris’ wife Alwen Hughes has died at the age of 93 just 15 months after the disgraced TV star.
The former children’s TV favourite, who also died at the age of 93 in May 2023, was a family favourite on the small screen. But his world turned upside down when he was convicted of child sex offences.
His doting wife, Alwen, stood by her husband when he was sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars for 12 counts of indecent assaults on four underage girls between 1968 and 1986. Her death certificate states that she passed away from a stroke.
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Alwen died on August 15, 2024. She was born on December 26, 1931, in North London. It is understood that she grew up in the heart of Wales and trained as a jeweller and a sculptor when she met Harris at art school.
(Image: Getty Images)
The pair went on to tie the knot in 1958. She was known for her taste in eccentric clothing which was put on show during her wedding celebration.
She famously had a poodle as a bridesmaid on her wedding day. The couple’s affection for the dog breed has long continued, with Harris’ health said to have taken a turn for the worse following the death of their beloved poodle last year.
The couple shared one daughter together, Bindi, 58, and the family of three arrived at Southwark Crown Court together every day during Harris’ first eight-week trial in 2014. Alwen supported her disgraced husband throughout the proceedings and his subsequent jail term.
(Image: No credit)
The television personality, who also fronted Animal Hospital, was released on licence in May 2017 after serving half his sentence. He reportedly moved back into the home he shared with his wife in Berkshire and was said to be too ill to leave the property.
Following his death, his final conversation with their daughter Bindi was made public. Harris said: “I always believed we would go on longer together but, if I go first, promise you’ll take good care of your mum.”
His wife had been pictured in a wheelchair in recent years and, as confirmed by Harris’ statement in 2017, was in poor health. Recent reports suggested that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Speaking shortly after Harris’ conviction, singer Vince Hill claimed Harris was the sole carer of Alwen, who – then aged 82 – he described as being “in a terrible state.” Hill, then 77, told The Sunday People in 2014: “Alwen is very poorly.
“We’re all very worried about her. I don’t know if she will survive his prison term. She’s quite fragile. She suffers from arthritis and she’s had hip-replacements and God knows what.”
Harris’ daughter Bindi was, according to Hill, worried her mother could “drop down dead from the stress of the trial” at the time. More recently, it had been reported that Alwen, who lived with dementia, was unaware that the convicted paedophile had died.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
