Sir Michael Palin's sad update as he says he is preparing for the end of his life
Sir Michael Palin announced he has made preparations for the end of his life. In a new interview, the Monty Python star opened up about his will and how his kids "know where to find what they need to find should I die".
The 83-year-old candidly spoke about the heartbreaking loss of his wife, Helen who passed away in 2023. Speaking about their relationship and life together, he stated: "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."
He continued: "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'.
"I still use the 'we'. I find it almost impossible to say 'I am'."
Speaking on the Marie Curie Couch podcast, he explained that Helen had been in pain for several years following a knee replacement before a "number of different things were diagnosed".
He explained: "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."
Michael went on to say that the care Helen received at a Marie Curie hospice had made a big difference in her happiness, sharing that Helen was happier during the last few days of her life than she had been in the previous six years, the Mirror reports.
The TV star has three children with his late wife - William, Rachel and Thomas. Speaking about his children and his death, he admitted: "I do think about death and the family are rather wonderful about it.
"I've made my will and all that. My family, my children, know where to find what they need to find should I die." Michael shared that he doesn't think about dying or fear it, instead he lives for each day but admitted he is often "slightly unsteady" on his feet some days.
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 had previously undergone open heart surgery back in 2019, and admitted that Helen's passing had helped the whole family speak more openly about death, something which he was discouraged from doing as a kid.
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