The pathetic final days of disgraced TV star Rolf Harris – with the wife who refused to believe he was evil: How reclusive paedophile battled neck cancer and was fed through a tube after shameful fall from grace
- Harris struggled to talk or eat as he fought the neck cancer that killed him
Despised paedophile Rolf Harris spent his final days battling neck cancer and being fed through a tube before succumbing to his illness aged 93.
The former children’s entertainer – who died a fortnight ago – struggled to talk or eat as he spent a lonely existence at his £5million Berkshire home.
Harris had lived as a near-recluse since being freed from jail in 2017, accompanied only by his wife Alwen and their carers.
The 91-year-old, who had always stood by Harris and refused to believe he was evil, was also ill with Alzheimer’s disease and used a wheelchair.
The couple’s daughter, Bindi, had no comment when asked about her father’s illness, with a family friend saying she has had ‘nothing to say about him for years’.
Paedophile artist Rolf Harris had been married to his wife Alwen Hughes for 65 years
Harris has already been cremated after a ‘secret’ funeral, MailOnline understands.
A statement from his family, released through his solicitor, said: ‘This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest.
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‘They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made.’
Private investigator, author and former police officer William Merritt, author of the book Rolf Harris: The Truth behind the Trials, told MailOnline that he last met with him in late 2022, and he was gravely ill.
‘He said: ‘Rolf has been very sick. When I saw him he was able to speak to me. He was with it, but he was obviously unwell’.
Mr Merritt said Rolf has had neck cancer and there have been serious concerns about his health, although he was ‘getting on with things’.
Due to the cancer, Rolf is said to have ‘gurgled’ when talking.
His wife Alwen – who he had been married to for 65 years – has also been seriously ill with Alzheimer’s disease. ‘She’s very frail’, he said.
It understood Harris’ health took a turn for the worse after the sudden death of his beloved poodle earlier in 2022.
Harris has already been laid to rest in a ‘secret’ funeral, MailOnline understands. He’s seen with his wife and their daughter, Bindi, in a family photo
Harris married his sculptor wife Alwen in March 1958 after meeting at art school. The couple have one daughter Bindi.
Best known for hits Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport and Jake The Peg, as well as a string of children’s TV hits, Harris also famously painted the 80th birthday portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He was the face of British Paints for more than three decades before he was dumped by the brand when he was arrested in 2013.
The following year, Harris was found guilty on 12 counts of indecent assault, and was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail .
The assaults include one on an eight-year-old autograph hunter, two on girls in their early teens, and a catalogue of abuse against his daughter’s friend of over 16 years.
He was released on parole in May 2017 after serving three years behind bars.
The £5million Berkshire home where Harris spent his final days as a virtual recluse
Of the 12 convictions, one was overturned on appeal in November 2017, and a jury chose not to convict him in two additional cases in the same year.
The convicted paedophile lived a reclusive life in the English village of Bray.
Mr Merritt said last year that Rolf now prefers to be on his own and doesn’t ‘particularly like kids’ as he ‘hates the noise’.
‘(He’s) battling a cancer of the neck, and gurgles when he talks. It’s difficult to understand him,’ Mr Merritt said.
‘As soon as one of two people walk into the room, he turns into a big kid again. He’s an artistic type, and he’ll try to perform on cue, even when he’s unwell.’
Harris’ health has deteriorated in recent years and that he was hospitalised during his stint in prison when his diabetes spiralled out of control.
‘He’s in poor health and has declined rapidly. He doesn’t come out any more and when he does it’s only ever with his carer,’ one neighbour said in 2019.
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