Sir Michael Gambon’s girlfriend left out of will as estate goes to wife of 61 years
Sir Michael Gambon has bequeathed his ￡1.5 million estate to his wife but left nothing to his long-term girlfriend and mother of two of his sons.
Sir Michael, the award-winning actor latterly known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, shared his time between Lady Anne Gambon and Philippa Hart, a set designer, before his death at the age of 82 in September.
However, his will, written and signed in December 2016 and published on Tuesday, showed that nearly his entire fortune had passed to Lady Gambon, who is listed as an executor along with the couple’s 60-year-old son, Fergus.
Provision was made for the ￡1,465,882 estate to pass to Fergus, an Antiques Roadshow ceramics expert, if his mother had died before her husband.
Ms Hart, who lived openly with Sir Michael in west London and is 25 years his junior, will not get a penny. However, her two children with the actor, Tom, aged 17, and William, 15, each received ￡10,000.
According to the three-page document, they have also both been given a silver heart Variety Club of Great Britain stage actor award, with Tom given one from 1987 and William a trophy from 2000.
The actor met Ms Hart while filming the Channel 4 series Longitude in 2000, and within a year he was introducing his girlfriend to fellow actors.
For two decades, the actor split his time between her and Lady Gambon, who was said to have initially been devastated by the news of his other relationship and moved out of the home they shared.
However, she then came to terms with the arrangement and moved back.
Speaking from her ￡1.5 million four-bedroom Victorian terrace after the details of Sir Gambon’s will were released, Ms Hart told the Daily Mail: “It’s none of my business. I really don’t want to talk about this.”
Fergus and his mother declined to comment when approached by the Mail at their ￡5 million Grade II-listed home in Meopham, Kent.
Sir Michael, born in Dublin, trained as a toolmaker before moving to a career on stage, going on to play the lead in The Singing Detective in 1986 and the pipe-smoking French detective Maigret in the 1990s ITV adaptation before enjoying success in Hollywood.
His career spanned more than 60 years, with other films including Layer Cake, Dad’s Army and The King’s Speech.
Lady Gambon married Sir Michael in 1962 and is a retired mathematician who makes her own pottery and has a passion for bookbinding.
It is believed Sir Michael and Ms Hart had not been together for some time before his death.
