David Attenborough suffered heartbreak just shy of his and his wife’s 47th wedding anniversary, later sharing a moving statement following the tragedy
David Attenborough turns 100 today, marking a remarkable life and career filled with unforgettable moments. Among the many celebrations of the much-loved broadcaster’s milestone, the BBC will air a week-long tribute showcasing his work and legacy.
While his life has been defined by countless treasured memories, one period brought deep heartbreak.
In 1997, David lost his wife, Jane, one day shy of their 47th wedding anniversary. Aged 70 at the time, his spouse suffered a brain haemorrhage and fell into a coma.
At the time, the broadcaster had rushed back from New Zealand and later recalled the emotional moment she briefly clasped his hand before passing.
According to Best Magazine, he said: “She never recovered consciousness, but she knew I was back because she clasped my hand. I am absolutely distraught. I don’t know how I’m going to adapt to life without her.”
When asked what he missed most about her, he simply replied: “Her presence.”
The pair met as students at the age of 18 and never looked back. A technician who worked with David once said of their marriage: “The way those two greeted one another looked more like a couple of teenagers.”
The couple tied the knot six years after meeting and went on to have two children, Robert and Susan, who are now in their 70s.
In his memoir Life on Air, he said of Jane’s passing: “Her death left a huge hole in his life. The focus of my life, the anchor had gone… now I was lost.”
Speaking about grief, he also previously told The Radio Times: “You accommodate things… You deal with things. I’m quite used to solitude in the wilds but, no, an empty house is not what I enjoy.
“But my daughter’s there. In moments of grief – deep grief – the only consolation you can find is in the natural world.”
Ahead of his 100th birthday, David said he was “not afraid” of death, but instead “afraid of not living enough”.
He has, however, admitted to regretting the time he missed out on with his children, while away filming.
Speaking to Louis Theroux in 2017, he said: “If I do have regrets, it is that when my children were the same age as your children, I was away for three months at a time.
“If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable. You miss something.”
Meanwhile, despite his age, the broadcaster has vowed to continue working for as long as he can, ruling out retirement.
“I do dread not working. [But] I would like to think I would be able to detect when I couldn’t find the right words any more. If I was earning my money by hewing coal I would be very glad indeed to stop.
“But I’m not. I’m swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things. It is…such good fortune,” he told the publication.
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