Dame Maggie Smith was laid to rest in an intimate funeral service on Monday.
Smith died at 89 on Sept. 27.
According to the Daily Mail, on Nov. 4, the legendary actress’s life was celebrated at Mortlake Crematorium in Richmond, London.
“Such a beautiful goodbye to Maggie Smith today,” one guest told the outlet.
“It was warm and funny and full of love and brilliant eulogies, with the best hymns bringing belted out by all. It was poignant but not sad because hers was a life so richly lived.”
Mortlake was also the funeral site for several other famous British figures, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, her husband Dennis and comedian Tommy Cooper.
Smith is survived by her grandchildren and her two adult sons who are both actors — “Black Sails” star Toby Stephens, 55, and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” star Chris Larkin, 57.
Her sons announced her death with a statement on Sept 27.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” they wrote at the time.
They added: “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.”
Smith, who was born in Ilford, England, on Dec. 28, 1934, won Tonys and Oscars and enjoyed a seven-decade career on both the stage and screen, but she was best known for her later-in-life roles as stern Professor McGonagall in the eight “Harry Potter” films and the acerbic Dowager Countess of Grantham on “Downton Abbey.”
After her death, several of her former co-stars spoke out with tributes.
“The first time I met Maggie Smith I was 9 years old and we were reading through scenes for ‘David Copperfield,’ which was my first job,” Daniel Radcliffe, 35, told The Post in a statement.
“I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her.”
The “Harry Potter” star recalled, “The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was ‘would you like me to call you Dame?’ at which she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘don’t be ridiculous!’”
He added, “She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the ‘Harry Potter’ films. She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.”
“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set.”
Smith spoke about retirement with her “Downton Abbey: A New Era” co-star Dominic West in 2022.
“I sat next to her around that famous table for two or three days and got to just chat to her and listen to her hilarious jokes and sly remarks,” West, 54, recalled at a press conference that same year, via the Independent. “She said at one point that she’s going to throw in the towel now. She said: ‘That’s it. I’m not going to do any more.’ And I said: ‘What? Acting?’ and she said: ‘Yeah, no more acting.’”
“I said: ‘Theater as well?’” West continued. “And she said: ‘No, I’m not doing theater either, and this will be my last job.’ And that was incredibly emotional.”
Smith, however, quickly changed her tune.
“And then I went back the following week, and I said: ‘It’s so sad, Maggie,’” he recalled. “And she said: ‘Nonsense!’ She’s booked another film. She starts next week.”
