When Sir David Attenborough marks his 99th birthday on Thursday, celebrating another year in a quite extraordinary life, it’s likely to be a low-key affair at the home where he’s resided for more than half of his time on the planet he so adores.

By his side will be the two children, Robert and Susan, the naturalist shares with his late wife Jane Ebsworth Oriel, who tragically died in 1997 after suffering a brain haemorrhage while Sir David was filming with the BBC in New Zealand. 

Since the loss of Jane, who Sir David met when they were students and who he described after her death as his ‘greatest love’, it is his daughter Susan who has carried on her mother’s love and care for her father, and who is frequently pictured next to the naturalist at high-profile events.

This week sees his latest documentary, Ocean, released to coincide with the start of his 100th year, and in the trailer for it, the broadcaster is honest about being in the twilight of his life.

Discussing his memories of viewing the ocean as a young boy, he says: ‘When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity.

‘Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true. After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.’

In the past, Sir David has been equally frank about the price he’s paid for captivating the world with his adventures; the broadcaster would frequently be away on his extensive travels – often to dangerous places – when Robert and Susan, both now in their early 70s, were young children.  

In 2017, he told the Radio Times that the only regrets he has in life centre around around not always being present for his children in their most formative years. 

Arm-in-arm: The naturalist, who turns 99 on Thursday, pictured with his daughter Susan, who has filled the shoes of his late wife Lady Jane, who died in 1997, by attending public events with her father in recent decades (Pictured in Marylebone in 2018)

The much-loved naturalist’s latest film, David Attenborough: Ocean, will be released on Thursday following a premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall

Close: Father and daughter have been a regular sight at Wimbledon over the years; pictured here sharing a joke in the Royal Box at the All England Lawn Tennis with Richard Attenborough in 2003

Sir David pictured with his ‘greatest love’ wife Jane in 1991. Lady Attenborough died from a brain haemorrhage in 1997 at the age of 70

The eco campaigner said: ‘If I do have regrets, it is that when my children were the same age as your children, I was away for three months at a time.’ 

The star, who also has two grandchildren, added: ‘If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable; you miss something.’

Sir David appears to have more than compensated for those absent months in more recent decades, with the environmentalist particularly close to Susan, who bears a strong physical resemblance to her late mother.  

She is now her father’s biggest confidant and, after a successful working life in education as a primary school head teacher, Susan is also steering the ship that is her father’s stellar career. 

In the late nineties, educational consultant Susan and her bioanthropologist brother Robert, took joint charge of David Attenborough Productions Ltd but it is father-and-daughter who have frequently been spotted over the years enjoying excursions, including annual trips to SW19 to watch the tennis at Wimbledon. 

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On a practical level, Susan has also filled the role of companion left by her mother; her father has spoken out about how she will stay in with him, cook up hearty meals – including shepherd’s pie – and take care of his shopping. 

In 2017, Sir David told Stylist Magazine that his fears in later life revolve around the care he might need, saying: ‘I’m scared of becoming an appalling encumbrance on my children.’

Sir David has been honest about life’s fragility as he reaches another milestone birthday.

The environmentalist’s son Robert has followed in his father’s footsteps with his love of the natural world, holding a position within the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University. 

Sir David will likely celebrate his birthday at the home he has lived in for more than half of his life in Richmond. 

His late brother Richard Attenborough also owned a home in the town until his death in 2014 at the age of 90 – and the naturalist has called Richmond his ‘favourite place on earth’, likely because of the strong family connection he has to the area.

The two brothers were born in Isleworth, a mile from Richmond, and later lived on campus at the University of Leicester, then University College Leicester, where their father was principal. 

Educational consultant Susan, now in her early 70s, has dedicated her life to her father’s career in recent years, including running his production company

Sir David has opened up about his health as he shared his fears over the damage to the seas and the world’s ecosystems, noting that it’s not too late to change things 

While the naturalist is close to his son Robert, it is Susan who regularly appears with her father at public events, pictured in Oviedo, Northern Spain in 2009

 In 2017, Sir David commented on his stoic daughter’s care, saying she would ‘muck him out’ and make him favourite meals such as shepherd’s pie (Pictured in 2019)

Last year, the keen tennis fans were back at SW19, sitting alongside David Beckham on Centre Court 

The family at home in Richmond, pictured in 1955 with their pet tortoise – Sir David still resides in the home he once shared with his wife and has called Richmond ‘his favourite place on earth’

The environmentalist has reflected that his extensive travels took him away from his children in their formative years – saying he regrets the impact being away for months at a time from his family had (Sir David and Lady Jane pictured with their children; Robert and Susan) 

When Jane died in 1997, the mourners gathered at St Anne’s Church in Kew Green included Sir David’s brother Richard, Lord Attenborough, and his family, Anna Ford, Bill Cotton, Bamber Gascoigne and friends from theatre and TV. 

It was at St Anne’s that David and Jane were married 47 years ago, and where Robert and Susan were baptised.

The naturalist said the greatest gift his late wife had given him was the freedom to pursue his love of the natural world. 

He said: ‘Many women whose husbands worked away as often as I did might have made a different life for themselves. Jane didn’t; the family was as central to her life as it was to mine. 

‘That’s not to say she didn’t have her own interests and her own friends. She was an enthusiastic potter and she did social work here in Richmond and worked with various charities. So yes, she had friends, but never her own life.’ 

Sir David said many people may have thought him selfish. 

‘Some might say: “But what did she want?” I knew just what Jane wanted. The two of us were such homebirds. When I came home from trips I just wanted to be with her. She was my rock. It was as simple as that.’  

Sir David and Jane – born Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel – met while students. She was his first and only serious girlfriend.

They were both 18 and at the age of 24, when he had finished his national service with the Royal Navy, they married in 1950.

In 1951, their son, Robert, was born and a year later Sir David joined the BBC. Two years later, their daughter Susan arrived.

Sir David and Lady Jane pictured on their wedding day with his brother and best man, Richard Attenborough, at St. Anne’s Church, Kew Green, in Richmond upon Thames in 1950 – Lady Jane’s funeral was held at the same church in 1997

The strength and devotion of the Attenborough marriage was legendary. Jane never failed to meet him at the airport when he returned from his film trips.

A technician who worked with him previously recalled to the Daily Mail at being astonished at seeing the cool, professional naturalist suddenly transformed into a passionate husband.

‘The way those two greeted one another looked more like a couple of teenagers having a snog at a disco,’ they said.

‘The surgeon very gently and compassionately said that there was no way he could operate because she simply wasn’t strong enough.

‘She died one day short of our 47th wedding anniversary. It was a very happy marriage.’