Michael Palin heartbreakingly announces death of his wife Helen
Michael Palin has announced the death of his wife.
The Monty Python star confirmed that his wife Helen passed away earlier this morning.
The 79-year-old chose to take to his website to share a heartbreaking statement surrounding the loss of his partner.
“My dearest wife Helen died peacefully in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” Michael wrote to his fanbase, in a post simply titled: ‘Helen’.
“She had been suffering with chronic pain for several years, which was compounded a few years ago by a diagnosis of kidney failure,” he continued.
The documentarian then went on to reminisce on his relationship with Helen. “We first met on a summer holiday on the Suffolk coast when we were both sixteen and we married in our early twenties,” he recalled.
Michael also confirmed that Helen’s passing has tragically come after the pair recently celebrated a huge milestone. “Two and a half weeks ago we celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary,” he penned.
The couple share three children – Thomas (54), William (52) and Rachel (48) – and Michael noted their grief in his statement. “Her death is an indescribable loss for myself, our three children and four grandchildren.”
“Helen was the bedrock of my life. Her quietly wise judgment informed all my decisions and her humour and practical good sense was at the heart of our life together,” he concluded, before requesting for the family’s privacy during this sad time.
Before her passing, Michael had recently opened up about Helen’s ill health. In September of last year, the actor spoke to The Telegraph Magazine about how his wife had recently been moved into respite care.
"I don't think you can cure it, but they will help her manage it," he explained at the time. “She was so active and still is mentally. But the body is declining. We live life with our fingers crossed,” he added.
