‘National treasure’ UK actor Maggie Smith dies at 89

LONDON: Oscar-winning British actor Maggie Smith, a star of stage and screen for more than seven decades, died in hospital in London on Friday, her sons announced, prompting a flood of tributes led by King Charles III.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,” Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said in a statement.

During the course of her career, Smith won a Tony, two Oscars, three Golden Globes and five Baftas.

And she achieved late-career international fame for her depiction of the acerbic Dowager Countess of Grantham Violet Crawley in the hit television series “Downton Abbey”.