Don King’s wife Henrietta King passed away in December of 2010 after having been married for fifty years. According to reports, Henrietta King passed away after a length battle with a number of conditions. In the immediate wake of her death, less scrupulous websites falsely reported that Don King had been shopping for engagement rings with his girlfriend. The site that reported it quickly retracted the claim and said it was false.
Don King is a polarizing figure, that’s for sure. It’s not for me to say if he’s a good guy or not, but when the entire boxing community essentially turns its back on you after years and years of claims, one has to wonder what it’s all about. Well, this was never a concern for Don King’s wife Henrietta King. After her death, Don said he’d lost his best friend. She always declined to be interviewed and was by all accounts the exact opposite personality type as King– that is, she was a decent person who didn’t have an unending stream of B.S. pouring out of her face.
It’s always sad to hear about someone being in a hospice, and that was eventually where Henrietta, whom Don called “Henry,” ended up before her death. She would never accompany him to boxing matches, preferring a very quiet life away from any travel or glitz. It should be noted that Henrietta opted to stay with Don after he was convicted of murder and sentenced to some jail time. He spent three and half years in the clink before getting out and deciding on a career of ripping off professional boxers full-time.
