Elton John and Camilla, Queen Consort have paid tribute to late TV personality Paul O’Grady following his death on Tuesday.
The British TV presenter and comedian, who was well-known for his drag alter-ego Lily Savage, passed away “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening aged 67.
After the sad news was announced on Wednesday morning, Elton took to Instagram to pay tribute to Paul, who hosted his and David Furnish’s bachelor party before they entered into a civil partnership in the U.K. in 2005.
“Saddening news to hear of Paul O’Grady’s passing this morning,” Elton wrote alongside a throwback photo of him with Paul as Lily Savage. “A brilliant entertainer, wit, and supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and the fight against AIDS and HIV who I was fortunate enough to spend time with including when he hosted @davidfurnish’s and my Stag Party before our Civil Partnership in 2005.”
He continued, “Thank you for all the joy you brought into the world, Paul. You went places nobody had gone before and we will miss you very much.”
After same-sex marriage became legal in Elton’s home country in 2014, he and David tied the knot on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership.
Paul was best known for hosting TV shows such as Blankety Blank, The Paul O’Grady Show, the Blind Date reboot, and For the Love of Dogs.
In a statement from Buckingham Palace, Camilla, Queen Consort, who appeared in a one-off episode of For the Love of Dogs last year, said she was “deeply saddened to have learned of the death of Paul O’Grady, with whom she worked closely to support the work of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and whose warm heart and infectious humour lit up the lives of so many”.
Paul’s cause of death has not yet been released.
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