British acting legend, Dame Maggie Smith, has passed away "peacefully" at the age of 89.
"It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith," her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement.
"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."
Her sons thanked the staff at the hospital for their "care and unstinting kindness" during their mother's final days, and added, "We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time."
King Charles paid tribute on behalf of himself and wife Queen Camilla on Instagram Stories, sharing a photo of the two joking with the actress.
"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 off and on the stage," they said in a statement.
Fellow actor Hugh Bonneville, who played the son of Smith's character in Downton Abbey, said "anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent".
"She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances," he said in a statement.
One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses, Smith is best known to modern audiences for playing Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series and Violet Crawley, The Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the Downton Abbey TV series and films. The latter role earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards during its run between 2010 and 2015. Smith won the Best Actress Oscar in 1970 for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Best Supporting Actress in 1979 for California Suite. She was nominated a further four times for Othello, Travels with My Aunt, A Room with a View and Gosford Park.
Her other notable film roles include Death on the Nile, Hook, Sister Act, The Secret Garden, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet.
The veteran actress was also a regular stage performer, earning Tony Award nominations for Noël Coward's Private Lives and Tom Stoppard's Night and Day and winning for Lettice and Lovage.
Smith was married to actor Robert Stephens from 1967 and 1975 and had two sons, who are also actors. She tied the knot with playwright and screenwriter Alan Beverley Cross later that year and they remained married until his death in 1998.
She was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.
A cause of death has not been disclosed.
