Last photo of Rolf Harris with his loyal wife Alwen who stood by him
Last photo of paedophile TV star Rolf Harris with his loyal wife by his side: Disgraced entertainer poses alongside 91-year-old Alwen who stood by him after he was jailed for child sex crimes in 2014
- Alwen, 91, was married to Rolf Harris for 65 years and always stood by his side
These are the final photos of Rolf Harris and the wife who stood by his side after the disgraced TV entertainer was jailed for abusing young girls in 2014.
Harris, who died two weeks ago from neck cancer, aged 93, is seen smiling with his wife Alwen, as the married couple of 65 years pose for the professional-style photos.
Alwen, 91, who was fiercely loyal to Harris and refused to believe he was evil, has Alzheimer’s disease, and uses a wheelchair.
Wearing a pink coat and slippers, she can been seen smiling in one of the recent photos as Harris puts his arm around her, while holding the paw of their family dog.
In another shot they appear to share a laugh as they take in the lakeside view of their neighbour’s property, close to their £5 million Berkshire home.
Alwen, 91, was married to Rolf Harris for 65 years and always stood by his side
Rolf Harris pictured leaving Southwark Crown Court in 2017 with his wife Alwen
Harris, Alwen and their poodle Puggy at their wedding at St Saviour’s Church in Paddington, London. Puggy was a bridesmaid
Rolf Harris with his wife and their daughter, Bindi, in a family photo in 1967
Harris met his jeweller and sculptor wife in the early 1950s at art school in Kennington, south London.
However, they got to properly know each other four years later when they were both exhibiting at the Royal Academy.
According to Harris, it was not love at first sight for Alwen, ‘she was so glamorous, I was this loud Australian,’ he told the Daily Mail in 2007.
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But the pair eventually married at St Saviour’s Church in Paddington, west London in 1958.
Alwen grew up in Wales, and is known for her eccentric choices including her style of clothing and having their poodle Puggy as a bridesmaid at their wedding.
Speaking of their wedding, Harris previously said: ‘My wife, Alwen, and I bought her a new red collar for the wedding and we took her down the aisle on her lead.
‘She behaved very well and even wagged her tail when I put the ring on Alwen’s finger.’
Together they had one child, Bindi, who according to a family friend has had ‘nothing to say’ about her sex offender father ‘for years’.
Speaking of his marriage to Alwen, he said: ‘How has our marriage lasted so long? Well, we’re very good friends and we have the same outlook on life.
‘Alwen puts up with a lot from me, including the fact that I’m untidy.
‘But she’s not compulsively tidy either and it’s a house full of humour. I couldn’t imagine being with some-one on the opposite wavelength to me.’
Harris was convicted in June 2014 of a string of indecent assaults, including 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 over 16 years, starting when she was just 13.
When he was arrested, Alwen never publicly wavered from supporting her husband.
In 2014, he was jailed for just under six years for 12 indecent assaults on four underage girls between 1968 and 1986.
Speaking after his conviction, singer Vince Hill said: ‘Alwen is very poorly. We’re all very worried about her.
Alwen can been seen smiling in one of the recent photos as Harris puts his arm around her while holding the paw of their family dog
Rolf and Alwen Harris pictured on their wedding day with bridesmaid Puggy (the poodle)
‘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.’
According to Mr Hill, Bindi was worried her mother could ‘drop down dead from the stress of the trial’ at the time.
In 2017, while still in jail, Harries was put on trial for a second time, accused of four indecent assaults on three teenage girls.
He denied the charges and was found not guilty after the jury failed to agree verdicts.
In one of his final photos, Harris is seen posing with his digeridoo on a grand set of stairs, before blowing into the instrument while looking into the lens
The £5million Berkshire home where Harris spent his final days as a virtual recluse
Harris poses with his didgeridoo in one of the last ever photos taken of the disgraced former TV host
After, Harris’ solicitor read a statement on his behalf, saying: ‘Whilst I am pleased that this is finally over, I feel no sense of victory – just relief.
‘I am 87 years old, my wife is in ill-health and we simply want to spend our remaining time together.’
Harris – who had one of his charges overturned – spent three years at HM Prison Stafford before being released on license in May 2017.
At sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Sweeney told the veteran entertainer: ‘You have shown no remorse for your crimes at all.’
He added: ‘Your reputation lies in ruins. You have been stripped of your honours. But you have nobody to blame but yourself.’
Harris has already been cremated after dying on May 10 following a months-long battle with neck cancer, it emerged today. His family are believed to have held a ‘secret’ funeral.
Harris and his wife Alwen share a laugh during a photoshoot at their neighbour’s home in January
Alwen and Harris pictured together on the red carpet at the Royal Academy of Arts summer party in 2006
Rolf and Alwen Harris pictured together in February 1958
The couple pictured together at the BAFTAs in London in 1990
Harris had been struggling to talk after cancerous tumours grew in his neck after he was freed from jail in 2017 for a string of sex offences including against children as young as eight.
He was fed through a tube before his death and was seen in a wheelchair when out of the house.
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.
Rolf Harris with wife Alwen in their garden in Berkshire
Harris is propped up on a chair as he rubs his beard while cracking a wide smile in one of the last ever photographs taken of the paedophile
‘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 saw 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. ‘She’s very frail’, he said.
It understood Harris’ health took a turn for the worse after the sudden death of his poodle earlier in 2022.
Harris poses with a didgeridoo at the home of a neighbour in January, months before his death on May 10
Rolf and Alwen Harris pictured together in 2001
Harris is pictured laughing while sitting on a chair in one of the last ever photos taken of him back in January
Harris plays his didgeridoo on the stairs just months before his death from neck cancer
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 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.
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