Richard E Grant has penned an emotional tribute to his late wife Joan Washington.
The actor’s wife of 35 years sadly passed away earlier this month, after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
In a piece for the Daily Mail, Richard wrote: “It’s an extraordinary phenomenon to be truly ‘seen’ and ‘known’ by another human, and in Joan, I found someone who innately did both.”
Overwhelmed by the messages of love, condolence & support we have received from loved ones & strangers from all over the world & the appreciation from actors Joan taught over the years. Grief hits us like tsunamis as we try and put one foot in front of the other without her 💔 pic.twitter.com/VDhpFQwmrh
— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) September 4, 2021
“To have loved one another for almost four decades has been the ride of my lifetime,” he added.
Richard married dialect coach Joan in 1986, and the couple shared a daughter named Olivia together.
The actor is also stepdad to Joan’s son Tom, who she had from a previous relationship.
🎵ONLY YOU!🎵Joan – Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine 💔💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/YcdVAVK1ja
— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) September 3, 2021
The 64-year-old continued: “Since her stage four lung cancer diagnosis two days before Christmas, she was accepting, clear sighted, sanguine and totally without self pity.”
“It’s been my privilege to be by your side, sharing our last eight months together, enabling us to say everything we possibly wanted and needed to, so that when you asked Olivia and me two weeks ago ‘to let me go’, we unequivocally said ‘yes.'”
Richard revealed the Prince of Wales had visited his wife, who he affectionately referred to as The Colonel, shortly before she died.
🎵ONLY YOU!🎵Joan – Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine 💔💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/YcdVAVK1ja
— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) September 3, 2021
He said: “Prince Charles came to see ‘The Colonel’ last month, sat beside her, took her hand and said, ‘It’s been an absolute honour to have known you, Joan’ to which she instantly quipped, ‘I’m still here.’ Which broke the ice and made all three of us cackle.”
“Astonishingly, unlike me, she’s never been star struck and possessed the innate gift of speaking to everyone of any age or status as her equal.”
“Our loss is incalculable. Your love is immeasurable. The depth of our grief is mirrored by the magnitude of our love. Goodbye Monkee-mine. Do not forget us.”
