Sir Michael Palin, 82, has admitted he is “prepared to die” and has made a will and has discussed death with his adult children after his wife Helen died in 2023
Sir Michael Palin has revealed that he has made arrangements for the end of his life. In a new interview, the Monty Python legend discussed his will and mentioned that his children “know where to find what they need to find should I die”.
The TV personality opened up about the heartbreaking loss of his wife, Helen, who passed away in 2023. Reflecting on their love story and life together, he said: “Helen and I met on holiday in 1959. I was about 16 at the time. It was a holiday romance that built up to a long marriage. There was always a feeling that we were a unit – I hadn’t really realised until that after she’d died.
“That was a difficult thing: there was half of your life gone. I still say, ‘We’ve got in our garden…’, ‘We have two grandchildren…’ although she’s still here. I still use the ‘we’. I find it almost impossible to say, ‘I am…'”
During an interview for the On the Marie Curie Couch podcast, Michael detailed that his wife had been suffering for years following a knee replacement before being diagnosed with a “number of different things were diagnosed”.
“She had some problems with her heart. The gradual withdrawal from life was something I think she found very, very difficult. She was a gregarious person and full of fun. In the end, she was diagnosed with kidney failure. Then she got pneumonia and we went into hospital. We had a pretty bad experience there,” he added.
He credited the care she received at a Marie Curie hospice for making a significant difference, noting that she was happier during her final days than she had been in the preceding six years.
Michael, who has three children – William, Rachel, and Thomas – with his late wife Helen, revealed: “I do think about death, and my family is rather wonderful about it, asking things like ‘Have you made a will? Can I be in your will?'”.
“I’ve made my will and all that. My family, my children, know where to find what they need to find should I die.”
He maintained that he doesn’t dwell on mortality and instead focuses on living each day, although he does admit to being “slightly unsteady” on his feet at times.
He stated: “I’m 82 now, which is longer than any Palin male has lived for 200 years. I keep fit and I’m working, fortunately, and doing some quite difficult stuff, filming and all that.
“I kid myself that I’m going to be alright, and yet I know that I won’t because you feel tired at certain times. You’re slightly unsteady as you get out of bed, and you think, what’s happening? Well, the old car’s getting a bit rusty.”
Michael underwent open-heart surgery in 2019 and believes that his wife Helen’s passing has helped their family view death in a more direct manner, a perspective he was discouraged from adopting during his childhood.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
