Actress Prunella Scales, known for her role in Fawlty Towers, left an estate worth £3.2 million following her death, according to reports. She died in October last year at the age of 93 after a decade-long battle with dementia.
Estate Distribution
Reports indicate that a bulk of her fortune has been left to her children, Samuel and Joseph West, with 40 per cent going to the sons she shared with her late husband, actor Timothy West. Twenty per cent went to her stepdaughter Juliet, according to reports.
The Sun obtained court records showing the star's final estate stood at £3,376,585. After taxes, debts and costs were deducted, the sum was reduced to £3,166,554.
Charitable Bequests
The publication states that a six-page document was signed in 2020. In it, she asks trustees to hold off on selling her home in South London for up to a year, allowing her grandson Clement, who lived at the property, time to move out.
Charities set to benefit include Snipe Charitable Trust, which received £10,000, and the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Royal Horticultural Society, each receiving £1,000.
Family Reflections
Shortly after her death, her son Samuel admitted that the pair's last "proper" conversation came around two years before her passing. He noted that her ability to communicate deteriorated significantly in her final year.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast with Gyles Brandreth, Sam recalled: "I put out a message on Twitter a few days before saying, 'My mum's going to be 90, anyone who wants to send her a message I'll make sure she gets it.' I received 6,500 replies, which I bound into a book. Even after removing everything but the messages, they made a 110-page book, which she flicked through and rather enjoyed - and wouldn't remember of course now. But at the time it was rather beautiful. The last proper conversation I had with her was a couple of years ago, where she said to me 'How old am I?' And I said 'You're 91 mum'. And she said '91? F***' Beautifully enunciated, beautifully timed. It's not quite the final conversation that we shared, but it may well prove to be the last one that held any real meaning."
