Rolf Harris dies aged 93 after health battle

Australian sex offender Rolf Harris, whose entertainment career spanned decades before his sexual assault charges, has died at the age of 93.

Rolf Harris has died aged 93.

The Australian sex offender, who enjoyed a decades-long career in showbiz until his arrest on indecent assault charges in 2013, died after a battle with neck cancer.

But while the information was first publicly revealed on Tuesday, his death certificate shows he died several weeks ago.

On May 11, speculation was rife that Harris was gravely ill after an ambulance was photographed outside his UK home.

Rolf Harris has died aged 93. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

However, it was only on May 23 that Harris’ passing was confirmed.

A death certificate from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, the local authority in Berkshire, west of London, where Harris lived, is dated May 23.

But the date of his death is listed weeks earlier, on May 10, the day before the ambulance was spotted.

The cause of death was listed as metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of neck – neck cancer – and “fragility of old age”.

In late 2022, it was first revealed Harris had been severely unwell and struggled to communicate with people.

The gap between his death and it being recorded has meant the family have been able to hold a funeral for Harris and cremate him away from the public eye.

The family released a short statement saying Harris “died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest”.

Harris lived with wife of 65 years, Alwen Hughes, 91, who has Alzheimer’s disease. The couple needed round the clock care.

Talking to Daily Mail, private investigator and author William Merritt said Harris was gravely ill when he saw him last year.

“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,” he said.

A neighbour also said Harris’ health had declined after the death of his poodle, Bumble, last year.

“Only carers and nurses, who care for him 24 hours, come and go. I’m told he can’t eat anymore,” they said.

Harris was born in 1930 in Bassendean, in Perth’s north east.

He was a champion swimmer in his youth before moving to London in the early ‘50s, where he studied art.

After getting early gigs working as a performer and illustrator for the BBC and ITV, he became internationally famous for his art and music.

Harris became known for his art and music, before his arrest in 2013.

His most well-known hit was the Australian-inspired song, Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, released in 1957.

In 2005, the late Queen Elizabeth II sat for a portrait with him.

At the height of his career, Harris received multiple awards and honours, most of which were stripped. He had been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1968, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), in which he was later advanced to Officer (AO) in 2012.

Harris, pictured at the height of his fame in the ‘60s, was barely seen in public since his release from jail in 2017. Picture: Michael Putland/Getty Images

In 2013, he was arrested as part of a UK police investigation into a series of sexual offences. He was also accused of making indecent images of children.

After standing trial in June 2014, Harris was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault against four teenage girls between 1968 and 1986, one of which he later appealed. He was sentenced to a jail term of five years and nine months.

He was released from Stafford Prison in England’s midlands in mid-2017 after three years behind bars, and was rarely seen in public afterwards.

He stood trial again in mid-2017 for separate cases of sexual assault, involving seven complainants who were aged between 12 and 27 at the time of the alleged incidents. He was found not guilty on three counts, and was ultimately cleared after the jury failed to reach a verdict on four other counts.

Originally published as Rolf Harris dies aged 93 after health battle