Pattie Boyd is opening up about the poignant final moment with ex-husband George Harrison, which took place shortly before his 2001 death.
The former model and acclaimed photographer recalled in a new interview her last meeting with the Beatles guitarist a few months before his death at age 58 from lung cancer.
“He came with some little gifts and we played music and had some tea,” she told People in an article published Tuesday. “It was lovely to see him, but I knew he wasn’t well. I sensed that he wanted to see me rather than leave it too late.”
In her garden, she said Harrison remarked that “the flowers are shivering” after seeing a few of Boyd’s shrubs still trying to hold on during the cold weather.
“Only George would think flower shiver. It was so sweet,” Boyd, 78, told People of the memory.
Legally married to the famous Beatles guitarist for 11 years, the Taunton, England, native is reportedly the inspiration behind the Harrison-penned songs “I Need You” and “Something,” among others.
She would end up inspiring another British rock 'n' roll icon, who happened to be her ex’s close friend.
Boyd married Eric Clapton in 1979. And Harrison approved. “He said, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re going off with Eric instead of some idiot,’” Boyd recalled to People. “So he appreciated my choice!”
Her upcoming book, “Pattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures,” features more than 300 images from her personal archives, including images of her close friends Twiggy, Mick Jagger, Billy Preston and the Beatles, alongside letters from her marriages and from friends, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Due out Dec. 20 in the U.S., the book — already ranking as an Amazon No. 1 bestseller — contains the very last photo of Boyd and Harrison, who maintained a long-lasting friendship well after their divorce in 1977.
Shot during the early ‘90s in the garden of Friar Park, an English mansion that was owned by Harrison, the image has sentimental value since it’s the home they shared during their marriage.
“Just because things didn’t work out as we planned, it didn’t diminish our love for each other,” she added.
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