‘An empty house is not what I enjoy’: Sir David Attenborough reflects on loneliness after the sudden death of his wife of 47 years

Sir David Attenborough celebrates the remarkable milestone of turning 100 on May 8. As one of the world's most respected natural historians, the world is gearing up to honour him for this very special milestone.

But while he's known for creating memorable and compelling series and documentaries - his encounter with gorillas in Rwanda for 1979's Life on Earth will remain one of the most iconic moments of TV history - little is known about David's private life.

While his life in front of the camera is filled with wonder and awe, David has also reflected his experience with loneliness after his wife, Jane, died suddenly in 1997 after 47 years of marriage.

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The couple married at St Anne's Church on Kew Green in 1950 after meeting at Cambridge University, and they share children Robert and Susan. David was filming in New Zealand when Jane suffered a brain haemorrhage fell into a coma at the age of 70.

The broadcaster did manage to return to the UK to be with Jane before she passed away. Holding his wife's hand while she was unconscious, David recalls, "She gave my hand a squeeze."

After Jane passed, David wrote in his 2002 memoir, Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster, "The focus of my life, the anchor had gone...now I was lost."

David later shared that he coped with this difficult time in his life by working, but struggled with being alone in his home - he remained in the couple's family home in Richmond upon Thames after Jane died.

"It was the most fantastic luck that I was able to work," he says, adding, "but an empty house is not what I enjoy."

In conversation with Radio Times, the broadcaster opened up about he coped with "deep grief." He says, "Life changes… ‘easier’ is not the word, adding, "You accommodate things… you deal with things."

"But my daughter’s there," he says, referring to his daughter, former headteacher Susan, moving in with him after Jane's death to support him through loneliness.

Continuing to reveal his feelings about bereavement, David continues, "In moments of grief – deep grief – the only consolation you can find is in the natural world."

"People of great distinction (I won’t name names) have written and said, ‘When so-and-so died, the only thing that made life tolerable was to watch programmes on plants and animals.'"

"And I thought, ‘That’s true for me, yes.’ Because we are part of it and part of a big, enduring thing."

The broadcaster does spend time ruminating on his own death. "I don't fear death, but I fear suffering, of course, who wouldn't?," he says.

David concludes, "You hope when the moment comes that it won't last long and it won't be a trial and tribulation to those you hold dear. But I know perfectly well that I'm not immortal."