Mary Berry has opened up about the death of her beloved son William, who died when he was aged 19.
Mary, who turns 90 on Monday (March 24), spoke to Vogue ahead of her big birthday, opening up about son William’s death when he was a teen.
The baking legend welcomed three children with her husband Paul Hunnings, who she married in 1966. The couple had two sons – Thomas and William – and a daughter, Annabel.
Very sadly, William died in a car accident when he was a teen.
Mary Berry on loss of son William
The star lost son William in 1989, when he was at home enjoying a break from his studies at Bristol Poly.
Mary revealed she’d cooked roast lamb the night before – William’s favourite – and he asked to borrow the car to go and pick up the weekend papers. However, after some time, there was a knock at the door, and Mary opened it to see a policeman standing in her driveway. She said at the time that she “just knew” William had died.
Sister Annabel, who was a passenger in the car, survived.
He just looked so beautiful and so lovely. His little cold face.
Visiting her son’s body after he died in the local hospital, Mary revealed to Vogue: “He just looked so beautiful and so lovely. His little cold face.”
The former Great British Bake Off star added: “You know, we were so lucky to have him. He brought us such joy. I feel for people who have lost their child in a skiing accident or when they don’t know where they died. We got to be a family unit [right up until] those few hours before he died.”
‘A tragedy’
Mary went on to reveal that the family still speak about William, more than three decades on.
“Every family has disasters. You know, a partner that dies very early, a much-loved mother, whatever it may be. And this was our tragedy. It was a huge tragedy, but we did have two more children. We always think we were fortunate to have had him for 19 years. We still talk about him – the grandchildren particularly, the boys who love rugby. [Annabel’s 16-year-old son] Hobie will come and say: ‘I scored. William would have been proud, wouldn’t he?’ Yes. He would be proud.”
How Mary Berry coped with death of son William
Following the accident, Mary said that the “great outdoors” helped her to cope. However, she acknowledged that grief is different for “every person”.
She said they pulled together as a family and decided to stay busy and “get on with things”.
The star added that some people keep their grief to themselves, however, she warned this can “end in divorce”.
Happily that wasn’t the case for Mary. The star baker and her husband Paul are still going strong, almost 60 years after they tied the knot.
Read more: Mary Berry on the childhood battle that helped her through the grief of losing her son
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