Who was Rolf Harris and why did he go to prison?

The disgraced paedophile was awarded an MBE, OBE and CBE before being stripped of them when his crimes came to light ROLF HARRIS died in May 2023, almost a decade after he was jailed for a a string of sex attacks on children.

His wife Alwen, who stood by her husband following his conviction, passed away at the age of 93 on September 12, 2024.

Who was Rolf Harris?

Rolf Harris was born on March 30, 1930, in Perth, Australia.

His parents, Agnes and Cromwell, had emigrated there from their previous home in Cardiff, Wales.

Harris showed an interest in art from a young age and was just 16 when a self-portrait he painted was exhibited in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

He was also a keen swimmer as a youngster.

In 1953 Harris, then aged 22, left Australia to move to England and a year later he landed a role presenting a children’s art show on the BBC.He went on to land a UK No1 with Two Little Boys in 1969 and a No7 hit with Stairway to Heaven in 1993.

As well as becoming famous for his music, Harris became a popular television personality in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s thanks to his roles on The Rolf Harris Show, Rolf’s Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital.

In 2005 Harris, who lived in Bray in Berkshire for more than six decades before his death, painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Harris had one child, a daughter called Bindi, with his wife.

In 2023, it was reported that she had changed her name to Ava Reeves in an attempt to distance herself from her dead father.Why did Rolf Harris go to prison?

Rolf Harris was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault in June 2014 and was subsequently jailed for five years and nine months.

During sentencing the judge said: “Your reputation now lies in ruins, but you have no one to blame but yourself.”

The disgraced star was released from prison in May 2017 part-way through a retrial on four accusations of indecent assault, but was rarely seen in public in the period between then and his death.

The last photo of the former presenter before his death aged 93 showed him in a wheelchair after neck cancer left him needing 24-hour care.