David Attenborough's Life From Sudden Loss Of Wife Of 47 Years ...

David Attenborough's life from sudden loss of wife of 47 years, famous actor brother and very ordinary jobs of 2 kids

The national treasure has become loved for his conservation of the natural world as well as the protection of endangered species

CommentsNewsLydia Veljanovski and Finn Byrne General reporter18:30, 08 May 2022Updated 18:30, 08 May 2022

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Sir David Attenborough has been starring on our TVs for longer than most of us can remember. The environmentalist is famous for his work campaigning to conserve the natural world and at 94-years-old still appears regularly on our screens. His campaigning and appearances on documentaries is so regular that his personal life is not often thought about.

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The natural historian and documentary maker has been awarded two knighthoods, one in 1985 and one in 2020. With his professional achievements put on the back pedal, what has gone on in Sir David's personal life?

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David was married to Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel for 47 years before her tragic death back in 1997. Jane passed away after suffering a brain haemorrhage at 70-years-old.

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David has previously explained how he dealt with the grief and said that when he arrived to the hospital, she was in a coma and the doctor suggested he hold her hand. He wrote in his autobiography: “She did, and gave my hand a squeeze. The focus of my life, the anchor had gone…now I was lost.”

He also told The Express about Jane's death and said: “I coped by working. It was the most fantastic luck that I was able to work. If my life had gone a different way - say I had gone into the oil business, which I once considered doing - I would have been out at 60.”

Jane and David had two children together, a son called Robert and a daughter called Susan. They are both now in their 50s. Susan is a former primary school headmistress living in the UK. Robert has followed in his father’s footsteps and is now a senior lecturer in biological anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra.

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