Primrose Shipman, 56, the wife of the late Harold Shipman , baffled relatives of her husband's victims as she queued for food with them during breaks in the trial, and tried to make small talk. At the inquiry after her husband's conviction, she replied more than times that she could not remember what took place.
Dame Janet Smith, who chaired the inquiry, found Primrose "honest and straightforward". After 40 years of marriage, Primrose Shipman maintained that her husband was innocent of murdering more than of his patients, and stood by him to the end. When he was jailed, she moved house to be nearer him, and visited as often as she was allowed. Observers said that the couple chatted and held hands during her visits, and their many letters attest to a profound devotion.
Shipman is reported as being deeply attached to Primrose, writing her romantic poetry from prison, holding her hand protectively in public and shielding her from having to speak for herself. After his conviction, she lived in almost total isolation, cutting herself off from any friends or relations who would not take the view that her husband was harmless.
Friends say that Shipman was everything to his wife, that she was devoted and submissive to a man commonly remembered as moody and domineering. He has been described by many as forceful, clever, enigmatic; she was barely literate and highly impressionable. They married when she was very young and six months' pregnant, a lapse for which her parents allegedly never forgave her. The couple met at a bus stop when she was 16 and working as a window dresser, and he was a medical student in Leeds.
They had four children; she supported him through his addiction to pethidine and frequently drove him on his rounds because he suffered from blackouts, waiting patiently in the car while he was tending to patients.
Even at the trail she remained loyal, as well she might after 40 years, but could Primrose really not have known by then that he had killed his patients, or did she successfully quell the thought that he might have been responsible for the deaths of so many elderly people in his care? Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips the-sun. You can WhatsApp us on We pay for videos too. The Optimist. ES Best. ES Mag. Follow us:. Password Please enter a valid password.
Submit Submit. The pair first met on the bus when Primrose was just After falling pregnant, she and Shipman tied the knot in They went on to have four children. The pair shared three sons, Sam, David and Christopher, and one daughter, Sarah. Very little is known of the four children, as all whom changed their names following their father's arrest.
However, Primrose and her four children did attend Harold's cremation in , which was held in secret outside of normal hours, according to the BBC. At the time, the Prison Service spokesperson said: "It's really not something the Prison Service would have any control over.
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