Maggie Smith: Memorial service was poignant but not sad

More than a month after her death, British actress Dame Maggie Smith (1934-2024) has been buried, according to British media reports. an intimate memorial service said to have been attended by family, friends and close colleagues. Smith died in a hospital on September 27th at the age of 89.

The commemoration took place on November 4th in Richmond, England. The British tabloid spoke to several guests. One person described the ceremony as “beautiful, warm and full of laughter.” Another guest described the celebration as a “nice farewell to Maggie Smith.” The farewell “was warm and funny, full of love and brilliant eulogies,” it is reported. Everyone present sang along to church songs loudly. It was “poignant, but not sad.”

The guests were given booklets with a childhood picture of the late actress printed on the front. “In loving memory of Dame Margaret Natalie Smith,” it read, a photo shows.

Her family told the BBC at the end of September that Maggie Smith had died at the age of 89. She was married to the actor Robert Stephens (1931-1995) from 1967 to 1975, and their two sons Toby Stephens (55) and Chris Larkin (57) come from the marriage. From 1975 until his death in 1998, she was married to the screenwriter Beverley Cross (1931-1998). The actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. The two-time Oscar winner was known, among other things, for numerous theater productions as well as films and series – including the “Harry Potter” films and “Downton Abbey”.