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Rolf Harris' cause – and date – of death confirmed

Rolf Harris’ cause of death has been revealed following the announcement of his passing after a battle with neck cancer. While the information was made public on May 23, his death certificate states he died several weeks ago. On May 11, it was speculated that Harris was gravely ill after an ambulance was spotted outside his UK home. However, it wasn’t until May 23 that his death was confirmed. The date of his death on the certificate was listed as May 10, one day before the ambulance was seen. The cause of death was listed as squamous cell carcinoma of neck – neck cancer – and “fragility of old age”. It was first revealed in late 2022 that Harris had been severely ill and struggled to communicate with people. The gap between the date of his passing and his death certificate allowed the family to hold a funeral for Harris and cremate him away from the public eye. In a short statement released by his family, they said Harris “died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest”. Harris lived with his wife of 65 years, Alwen Hughes, 91, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Both needed round the clock care. Private investigator and author William Merrit told the Daily Mail Harris was gravely ill when he saw him in 2022. “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 shared Harris’ health had declined after the death of his poodle, Bumble in 2022. “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 rose to fame for his art and music. In 2005, Queen Elizabeth sat for a portrait with him. Harris received several awards and honours, most of which were taken away. He had been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1968 and was appointed to the Order of Australia (AM), where he later advanced to Officer (AO) in 2012. He was thrust into the spotlight in 2013 after being arrested as part of a UK police investigation into a string of sexual offences. He was also accused of taking indecent images of children. He stood trial in June 2014 and was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault against four teenage girls between 1968 and 1986, one of which was later appealed. He was sentenced to jail for five years and nine months. Harris was released from Stafford Prison in England’s midlands in mid-2017 after three years behind bars and was rarely spotted in public afterwards. He stood trial again in mid-2017 for separate cases of sexual assault, involving seven complainants aged between 12 and 27 at the time of the alleged incidents. He was found not guilty on three counts and was cleared after the jury failed to reach a verdict on four other counts. Image credit: Getty

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Here’s who decides cause of death, how death certificates work – and whether a person died with or of COVID

COVID was Australia’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/08/covid-becomes-australias-third-most-common-cause-of-death-in-2022">third leading cause of death</a> (after heart disease and dementia) in 2022. In a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0%7E2017%7EMain%20Features%7EDeaths%20due%20to%20influenza%7E5">bad flu year</a> we have about 1,200 influenza deaths. We had more than <a href="https://covidlive.com.au/">1,500</a> COVID deaths in just the first month of 2023. We need to take COVID seriously. It is not like a cold or the flu. It is an exceptional disease. Because of the availability of vaccines and antivirals, there is no need for panic or further lockdowns. But there is no room for complacency either. The starting point in taking COVID seriously is ensuring policymakers and the public have confidence in the data about who is getting sick and who is dying. Without accurate data, there is no way to track the disease or work out how best to contain it. And a crucial part of this is ensuring people understand how death certificates work and how death data are recorded. <h2>Dying of COVID or with COVID?</h2> A common misconception is that the numbers being reported are people who died with, not of, COVID. Dying of COVID means COVID caused your death. Dying withCOVID means you died from another cause, but just happened to have COVID at the time. While we routinely collect data about both, a COVID death is when you die of COVID. This misconception makes it easy to dismiss COVID deaths on the basis that the numbers being reported are exaggerated. Dismissing the numbers makes people complacent and lets governments off the hook. If we all pretend COVID is just a mild disease, there is no need for governments and individuals to do our bit to minimise its spread. For most people whose vaccinations are up to date, COVID really is a mild disease. But about <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-re-all-vulnerable-one-in-10-people-will-end-up-with-long-covid-new-study-says-20230115-p5ccn5.html">one in ten</a> people infected with COVID go on to develop “long COVID” and the number of COVID deaths just keeps increasing as the pandemic drags on. <h2>How the system works</h2> The cause of every death in Australia must be certified by a medical practitioner. If the cause of death is not clear, the death is reported to the state or territory coroner for a coronial investigation. After the cause of death is determined either by a medical practitioner or the coroner, a death certificate is issued and sent to the bureau of births, deaths and marriages in each state or territory. From there, the data are sent to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is the independent statutory agency responsible for national statistical reporting. <h2>The death certificate</h2> The <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1205.0.55.001Main%20Features12008?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1205.0.55.001&issue=2008&num=&view=">death certificate</a> records the immediate cause or the condition that led directly to death. It also records what are called “antecedent causes”. Antecedent causes are the underlying causes. These are the conditions or events that occurred before the immediate cause. All other significant conditions that contributed to the death but were not related to the disease or condition that caused it must also be reported. So how does it work in practice? Imagine a family member dies of respiratory problems after having COVID. In this imaginary case, the direct cause of death is recorded as “acute respiratory distress syndrome”. The acute respiratory distress syndrome was due to pneumonia. In turn, the pneumonia was due to COVID. COVID is recorded as the antecedent cause of death. So the data may be recorded like this: <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2023/02/med-cert.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The way medical certificates are written is important. They give us quite accurate data on who dies of COVID (where COVID recorded as the direct or the antecedent cause) and who dies with it (COVID recorded as an “other significant condition”). We use both of these pieces of information for different purposes. <h2>Professional judgment</h2> While the cause of a person’s death is usually clear, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes doctors and coroners have to exercise their professional judgement in determining the cause of death. But this is a long way from claims on social media that medical practitioners and coroners are systematically reporting deaths “with COVID” as deaths “of COVID” as a way to exaggerate the COVID death toll. This is simply nonsense. There are often time delays between a person dying and their death certificate being issued. This is particularly the case for deaths referred to the coroner for investigation. In the interim, health departments around the country need data in real time so they can track the pandemic. They compile provisional COVID cause of death data as they go and then progressively update their data as death certificates are finalised. While this causes the numbers to fluctuate a little from week to week, the data used in official statistics are of very high quality. Australian clinical training, standards and documentation are excellent by all international standards. Australia has well developed systems in place for the accurate reporting of the causes of death and illness. These systems should inspire confidence in the numbers and that medical practitioners and coroners are reporting COVID deaths correctly. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-who-decides-cause-of-death-how-death-certificates-work-and-whether-a-person-died-with-or-of-covid-198401" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

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The queen’s death certificate says she died of ‘old age’. But what does that really mean?

Queen Elizabeth’s <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2022/registrar-general-releases-extract-of-death-entry-for-hm-the-queen">newly released</a> death certificate contains just two curious words under her cause of death – old age. We might talk about people dying of old age in everyday speech. But who actually dies of old age, medically speaking, in the 21st century? Such a vague cause of death not only raises questions about how someone died, it can also be hard on family and loved ones left behind. The many ways people die The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregistrationsummarytables/latest#leading-causes-of-death">leading causes of death</a> in England and Wales are dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; heart disease; cerebrovascular diseases (such as stroke); cancer; and COVID. Other notable causes include chronic lower respiratory diseases (such as asthma); influenza; and pneumonia. In fact, “old age” as a cause of death – alongside the vague description of “frailty” – is <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/monthlymortalityanalysisenglandandwales/august2022">often categorised</a> under “symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions”. This latter category is in the top ten causes of death. But this currently trails well below COVID, and on average over a five year period, below influenza and pneumonia. An interesting history Old age, as a category for causing death, has a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/classification_diseases2011.pdf">long history</a>. It was a leading cause of death in the 19th century, alongside the vague description of “found dead”. In the mid-19th century, <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/death-dying/dying-and-death/registeringdeath/">registering someone’s death</a> moved from clerical to secular, with the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836 (UK). There was then the landmark publication, the <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Bertillon-Classification-Causes-Death/dp/1360651454">Bertillon Classification of Causes of Death</a>, written by French statistician and demographer Jacques Bertillon. Canadian philosopher Ian Hacking <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Taming_of_Chance/ud7EzIBwQBwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">wrote</a> that dying of anything other than what was on the official list was “illegal, for example, to die of old age”. We may say this is a bit hyperbolic. Surely, by the end of the 19th century, it was not illegal to die of old age? What this suggests is that providing a precise cause of death is important because it’s a valuable tool for tracking mortality trends at different levels of the population. Eventually, “old age” became a last resort phrase to describe an unknown cause of death. Or it became useful where a person may have died from a number of complications, but where it was not practical or ethical to order an autopsy to find the precise underlying cause of death. There’s no closure The other reason why “old age” has been seldom used as the cause of death in the 20th and 21st centuries was that it doesn’t provide any closure to families of the deceased. <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/221012/">Research</a> shows families want information about how their loved one died, not only because it can be useful for managing their own health concerns, but also because it provides a resolution to their loved one’s death. An unknown cause of death can exacerbate grief and trauma, particularly if the death was sudden or unexpected. Researchers <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Continuing_Bonds/e8a7NjkzsbsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">have long argued</a> families form continuing relationships with their loved one after they die. Ascertaining how they died is one part of how the family members left behind manage their grief and memorialise the deceased. A good death We may decide that asking for more information about how the queen died at the age of 96 is just macabre titillation. We may decide the royal family deserves privacy surrounding intimate details of the queen’s death. However, a specific cause of death of someone who lived a privileged life and who died at an old age, for instance, can tell us much about how to lead a healthy life and plan for a good death.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191666/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Written by Marc Trabsky. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-queens-death-certificate-says-she-died-of-old-age-but-what-does-that-really-mean-191666" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

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Queen's official death certificate released

Queen Elizabeth’s official death certificate has been released citing that the late monarch died of old age. The UK’s longest reigning monarch died at the age of 96 on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The National Records of Scotland released the Queen’s official death certificate which stated that she “died of old age at 3.10pm”. It was the same cause of death as on her husband Prince Philip's death certificate. Their daughter, Princess Anne was labelled as the “informant” on the document and would have notified the local registrar of her mother's death. She also previously revealed that she was with the Queen in her <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/princess-anne-gives-touching-insight-into-queen-s-final-hours" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last 24 hours</a>. “I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life,” Princess Anne’s statement read. “It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.” Despite all this, the death certificate also indicated that the Queen passed away before her children and great-grandchildren could reach her side. Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Countess of Wessex, were on their way to the Queen about 2.39pm but they landed an hour later. Prince Harry made his own way to Scotland on a jet from Luton, only after his grandmother died. He landed in Aberdeen at 6.46pm, 16 minutes after the Palace made its announcement, and then arrived at Balmoral at 7.52pm, almost five hours after she died. Controversially, royal expert Lady Colin Campbell <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/royal-biographer-hints-at-queen-s-cause-of-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed the Queen</a> was suffering from a “relatively painless” but “invariably fatal” condition, before announcing her death 90 minutes before Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth was buried on September 19 at King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel. Image: Getty

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Sean Connery’s death certificate reveals cause of passing

Sean Connery died in his sleep from pneumonia and heart failure, it was reported today. The James Bond star passed in the Bahamas at the age of 90 after he had been feeling unwell for “some time”. According to TMZ, the actor’s death certificate showed he died from respiratory failure as a result of pneumonia, old age and atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeats). The document stated he died on October 31 at 1:30 am at his home in the Bahamas. Connery had a wealth of achievements during his lifetime, not only was he an Oscar-winning actor, but he also obtained two BAFTAs and three Golden Globes. He was also knighted by the Queen in Holyrood Palace in 200. Shortly after his death, his wife Micheline Roquebrune, 91, paid tribute to her “gorgeous model of a man:. Micheline, who had been married to Connery for 45 years, previously revealed how Sir Sean’s last months were blighted by dementia. The French painter said: “It was no life for him. He was not able to express himself latterly. “At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful. “I was with him all the time and he just slipped away. It was what he wanted. “He had dementia and it took its toll on him. He got his final wish to slip away without any fuss.”

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Kate Middleton and Prince William’s official job titles are very impressive

The release of Prince Louis’ birth certificate has revealed the interesting job titles of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. According to The Mirror, Prince William and Kate list their occupations as “Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Prince Louis of Cambridge's birth has been officially registered. Photo of his birth certificate, signed today by his father, Prince William: <a href="https://t.co/0zhJMKswYe">pic.twitter.com/0zhJMKswYe</a> — CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCAlerts/status/991288343907454976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2018</a></blockquote> Prince Louis’ birth was registered by Prince William and reveals the full name of the newest addition to the royal family: His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge. Unlike the birth certificate of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis’ is the only one to be typed out. On all three of the royal children’s birth certificates, the family’s address is listed as Kensington Palace. Since the birth of Louis on April 23, William and Kate are taking some time off from royal duties. Prince Louis was delivered at the private maternity unit of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington at 11:01am. The couple will both attend the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, where William will be his brother’s best man.

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Questions raised over Prince George's birth certificate

<a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2017/07/prince-george-turns-four/">When Prince George turned four years old</a> in 2017 and Kensington Palace released an official photograph to mark the little royal’s birthday, it was the opportune time for royal watchers to look back at the spectacle surrounding the royal birth. Remember the controversy over Prince George’s birth certificate? If you look closely at the document, it seems like your standard birth certificate listing the registration district, George’s date of birth and his father and mother’s names. But if you glance further down on the document, it lists Kate as the “Princess of the United Kingdom”. <img style="width: 360px; height: 400px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7822149/1-prince-george-birth-certificate.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f63f0591081d49d0bb37464df953bb1b" /> As keen royalists know, Kate has been known as the Duchess of Cambridge since her marriage to Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, in April 2011. However, according to royal fans, it’s not an error. It is, in fact, correct to Kate as the Princess of the United Kingdom in the job section, as that is her line of work. Under the name section, Kate is listed as: "Catherine Elizabeth Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge." For her occupation, it is indeed “Princess of the United Kingdom”. So despite it not being her official title, princess does aptly describe her work. However, Kate will never be given the title of “Princess” as that is reserved for women born into the royal family.

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Rolf Harris' cause – and date – of death confirmed

Here’s who decides cause of death, how death certificates work – and whether a person died with or of COVID

The queen’s death certificate says she died of ‘old age’. But what does that really mean?

Queen's official death certificate released

Sean Connery’s death certificate reveals cause of passing

Kate Middleton and Prince William’s official job titles are very impressive

Questions raised over Prince George's birth certificate