Liverpudlian icon and one-liner legend Sir Kenneth 'Ken' Dodd spent four decades in a with Lady Anne Jones, eventually entering a marriage pact in 2018, aged 90. The couple, who initially met in 1961, tied the knot by inviting a registrar to their home in Knotty Ash - the northern ward where Ken was a lifelong resident.

Famed for his white and blue "tickling stick", Ken was a much-loved variety performer hailing from the north-west. Achieving 14 Top 30 hits in 15 years, the star is best known for appearing on shows like 's The Good Old Days and , and for starring in Kenneth Branagh's -winning adaptation of Hamlet in 1996.

Mere months after he was bestowed an OBE for services to and charity, Ken and Anne said 'I do' at his childhood home in . According to the comedian's biographer Stephen Griffin, the veteran was never keen on the idea of wedding his long-term partner.

"As ever, despite the blossoming romance, there was to be no talk of marriage... he thought that marriage could lead to complacency in a relationship, and caused some couples to stop putting in any effort," he wrote. Despite this, Anne once claimed her spouse was a very "romantic person", alleging he wrote her "wonderful cards" that he would leave messages around the house for her to find.

"He got a rubber spider once and put it on the back of my shoulder because I hate spiders. But most of the time at home he was quite serious. Comedy is serious work," she once confessed to .

Ken and Anne, who is now 77, struck up a romantic bond in 1978 - a year after the death of the former's bride-to-be, Anita Boutin.

It's understood the 45-year-old, who had been in a relationship with the comedian from 1955, died as a result of an aggressive brain tumour in 1977.

Between 1982 and 1987 Anne and Ken went through fertility treatment in the hopes of producing offspring. Despite various staged medical interventions and the couple attemping multiple rounds of failed IVF, they never had children.

''It was the most important thing in my life," Anne said.

It's thought that Ken's Doodle the Poodle and the Diddymen creations were substitutes for his much-wanted family.

Around six weeks after being discharged from Liverpool's Heart and Chest Hospital, where he was admitted due to suffering from a severe chest infection, Ken decided he was finally ready to make his girlfriend a Lady, according to his publicist Robert Holmes.

"When Ken came out of hospital he was still very frail and I think he knew he was going, despite all the typically upbeat talk about getting back on stage. When they got home to Knotty Ash he asked Anne to marry him," he revealed.

"They'd talked about it before, obviously - they'd been engaged for 40 years. But she was still surprised, although she said 'yes' immediately.

"Ken was in bed, too frail to get up, but he spoke beautifully to say his vows and he even had a glass of champagne - a tickle tonic. Anne said she was so very proud of him because he was terribly poorly."

On March 9, 2018, the couple sent for a register and exchanged their vows with a signet ring.

Two days later on March 11, Ken, the UK's last great music hall entertainer, died at their home.

"I have lost a most wonderful husband. He lived to perfect his art and entertain his live and adoring audiences," his widow said in the wake of his death.

"I've been overwhelmed by the love and affection which I've already received from dear friends and the public."

A memorial service was held at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral on March 28, with Anne in attendance, alongside famous faces such as 's Ricky Tomlinson, actress and fellow comedians Roy Chubby Brown and Stan Boardman.

Three years after Ken's sudden death in 2018, Anne opened up about the reason her wedding ring was a signet.

"My wedding ring is his signet ring because it never occurred to me to nip out and get rings when we got married," she told The Mirror

"I gave it to him in 1981 or 1982 and it was inscribed with a song he was doing at the time, 'Hold My Hand', and it's got 'I love you' on it as well."

Following her husband's death, Anne has taken an active role in

The charity was founded in 2013 to support performing arts charities and organisations while encouraging children and young people to pursue passions in the creative sector.