Rolf Harris’s dying wish
Disgraced paedophile Rolf Harris’ final dying words can be revealed, almost a fortnight after the entertainer secretly lost his battle to neck cancer.
The Townsville Bulletin can reveal the once lauded national treasure begged his daughter Bindi to ensure his wife was cared for “until the very end.”
“Look after your mum. I always believed we would go on longer together but if I go first, promise you’ll take good care of your mum,” a source close to the family said of the 93-yearold’s conversation with Bindi, in the days before his passing at his home in the UK on May 10.
Harris, speaking haltingly because of his cancer and feed
ing tube, urged Bindi to ensure Alwen, who is in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s, received 24 hour nursing care.
Former dancer Alwen, who remains at the family riverfront property in Berkshire, in South West England, is said to be unaware her husband has died.
Details of the father-daughter conversation came as a never-before-seen photo emerged of a jubilant Harris, sitting at his dining table with supporters last year.
Harris is pictured with private detective William Merritt, who’d just finished a book on his assault trials, former PA Lisa Ratcliffe, friend Mike Kelly and former defence barrister KC Stephen Vullo.
Harris, who’d hired Mr Merritt to investigate the backgrounds of the women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by him, had just been presented with a copy of Rolf Harris: The Defenceteam’s Special Investigator Reveals the Truth Behind the Trials.
“He could barely talk then and was very sick, he gave me a thumbs up and wrote on a piece of paper, ‘it’s bloody great mate, I love it, finally people will know the truth,’” Mr Merritt, who spent two years compiling the book, said of Harris’ reaction.
Before his death, Harris accumulated a $28m fortune — including the $9.5m Berkshire riverside mansion — the future of which remains unclear.
The mansion, with its views of the Thames, is just a 10-minute drive from Windsor Castle, where the pre-downfall Harris unveiled his portrait of the late Queen in 2012.
While in prison, Harris pocketed a $1.8m payout after the break-up of his business empire, Rolf Harris Enterprises. Harris, it was reported, shared the proceeds with Alwen, who jointly owned the business.
Some of Harris’ fortune was eaten up in compensation claims and cash payments to alleged victims.