King Charles has paid a heartwarming tribute to Dame Maggie Smith. (Image: GETTY)
King Charles and Queen Camilla have shared a heartwarming tribute following the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
The King said in a statement: ” My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
“As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage.”Actor Dame Maggie Smith was best known for her roles in the and Downton Abbey and she even won two Oscars during her career – for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979. A family statement read: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.”She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
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Dame Maggie Smith passed away peacefully in hospital on September 27 (Image: Getty)
The family statement continued: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.
“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”Smith spent seven decades delighting audiences of all ages with starring roles on TV, in films and countless stage productions.In 1990 she was honored by Queen Elizabeth II for her “contribution to the arts,” with the monarch bestowing her with the title of Dame.
She was also made a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour for her services to drama in the late Queen’s birthday honours in 2014. The title is given to men and women for recognised services of national importance.
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Dame Maggie, was part of a generation of female performers that also included Judi Dench. She studied at Oxford High School for Girls and later at the Oxford Playhouse School, and was initially given several supporting roles early on in her career.In recent years, she was introduced to a whole new generation of fans when she played Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films and Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey.
Dame Maggie married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967 and they had two sons together before divorcing in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998. Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens who are also both actors, and five grandchildren.
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