Sir David Attenborough reveals the one thing he regrets in life

At the age of 97, it’s safe to say that Sir David Attenborough is living a full life. Indeed the natural historian has been knighted twice by the Royal Family and he’s published a number of books about planet Earth and its wildlife.

Attenborough has dedicated his life to protecting the planet's biodiversity and fighting climate change. Through his many documentaries, Attenborough has highlighted how climate change is affecting nature and wildlife and what people can do to help prevent it.

Since he has dedicated his life to research and climate change, Sir David travelled often, sometimes months at a time, which he has opened up about.

Sir David Attenborough lost his wife

Sir David Attenborough was married to Jane Oriel. The pair tied the knot in 1950 and were together for 47 years.

Sadly, Jane died in 1997 from a brain haemorrhage. In his memoir, Life on Air, Attenborough revealed he was in New Zealand when he found out his wife was in a coma and he flew back to England to be with her.

The focus of my life, the anchor had gone… now I was lost.

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Attenborough explained he entered a ‘deep grief’ and his daughter was his support during those times. Speaking to Radio Times, Attenborough said:

You accommodate things… you deal with things. I'm quite used to solitude in the wilds but, no, an empty house is not what I enjoy.

But my daughter's there. In moments of grief – deep grief – the only consolation you can find is in the natural world.

Sir David Attenborough regrets not spending more time with his children

Sir David and his wife welcomed two children into this world, Robert and Susan. Both children seem to have followed in their father’s footsteps in teaching others.

Indeed Robert is a senior lecturer in anthropology. He has even worked for the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, as reported by Mirror.

His daughter, Susan, who moved in with him after his wife died, used to be a primary school headteacher.

Attenborough revealed that he does regret not spending much time with his children as they were growing up due to his many travels. He told Radio Times:

If I do have regrets, it is that when my children were the same age as your children, I was away for three months at a time

If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable, you miss something.

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Sources used:

Mirror: ‘David Attenborough's devastating tragic loss and close bond with rarely seen kids’

Daily Star: ‘David Attenborough at 97 - heartbreaking loss, rarely-seen kids and net worth’