Sir Michael Palin went back to where it all began on Wednesday as he received an honorary degree from Oxford University.
The Monty Python star began writing comedy while enrolled at Oxford’s Brasenose College, where he read modern history, in the early 1960s.
There, he met Terry Jones, with whom he become a household name after forming the Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam.
Returning to the city on Wednesday, Palin, 81, was one of six people to be awarded honorary degrees during Oxford University’s annual Encaenia ceremony.
The event, held annually on the Wednesday of the ninth week during Trinity Term, recognizes distinguished men and women who have enjoyed enormous success in their respective fields, while commemorating its benefactors.
Sir Michael Palin went back to where it all began on Wednesday as he received an honorary degree from Oxford University
L-R: Anoushka Shankar, Sir Demis Hassabis, Sir Michael Palin and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala make their way towards the Sheldonian Theatre ahead of receiving honorary degrees at the University of Oxford’s annual Encaenia ceremony
Palin’s fellow recipients included musician Anoushka Shankar and World Trade Organization (WTO) director general Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Shankar, a sitarist, composer and producer, is the daughter of celebrated musician Ravi Shankar, a close friend and collaborator of the late Beatle George Harrison.
Other recipients include British engineer and entrepreneur Warren East, computer scientist and artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Sir Demis Hassabis, and Canadian cardiologist and epidemiologist Prof Salim Yusuf.
Speaking in April, Palin admitted he still struggles with the ‘foreverness’ of life without his childhood sweetheart, Helen Gibbins, nearly a year on from her death.
The comedian and presenter described his wife as the ‘bedrock of his life’. The pair met aged 16 while on holiday with their parents and got married in their 20s, spending almost six decades together.
He said he struggles with the ‘foreverness of it’ and said life without his lifelong companion feels ‘unreal’.
The couple had three children. She was 80 when she died on May 2, 2023 having battled with kidney failure for several years.
He told The Mirror: ‘We were both 16, and we married in our early 20s… Helen was the bedrock of my life. Her quietly-wise judgment informed all my decisions and her humour and practical good sense was at the heart of our life together.’
Monty Python star Palin began writing comedy while enrolled at Oxford’s Brasenose College, where he read modern history, in the early 1960s
The Encaenia ceremony, held annually on the Wednesday of the ninth week during Trinity Term, recognizes distinguished men and women while commemorating its benefactors
Computer scientist and artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Sir Demis Hassabis also received an honorary degree in Oxford on Wednesday
He continued: ‘It is kind of dealing with the foreverness of it.
‘That it is forever.”
In an interview broadcast later this week on BBC Radio 4, Palin explains that he and his fellow Python stars are still good friends – despite reports of a feud.
Former Python star Eric Idle has publicly criticised their manager Holly Gilliam, daughter of Terry Gilliam.
‘We see each other but not as often. I see Terry Gilliam as he lives close by. John lives in various parts of the world, I am not quite sure where, and Eric lives in America.
‘We are not that close, but when we get together, we talk about “that thing” as if it was like a long affair from years ago, and we get rather tearful. Python is still selling around the world, not what it used to, [but] it achieved success that none of us would have dreamed of.’
Now Palin is better known for his epic travel adventures which he hopes to continue.
Palin and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have a conversation during the annual ceremony
Fellow recipient Anoushka Shankar, a sitarist, composer and producer, is the daughter of musician Ravi Shankar, a close friend and collaborator of the late Beatle George Harrison
Bedels lead a procession towards the Sheldonian Theatre ahead of the annual Encaenia ceremony at Oxford University
Honorary degree recipients, among them Palin, brought up the rear of the procession
The ceremonial procession walked in single file ahead of the ceremony on Wednesday
