‘When I’m lying in bed I can still hear his breathing’: Patricia de Lille opens up about the heartache of losing her husband

It’s the first thing that catches your eye as you walk into her lounge at home – the framed portrait of the man who for 49 years was Patricia de Lille’s husband, soulmate and most loyal supporter.

“I put him there so he can smile at me whenever I come into the room and then I can smile back,” the politician says with an affectionate chuckle as she gazes at the picture of Edwin de Lille (72).

Then she turns serious.