The Queen has paid tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu as a tireless champion of human rights following his death aged 90.
Tutu, who helped end apartheid in South Africa, died in Cape Town on Boxing Day.
Queen Elizabeth II records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room in Windsor.
Victoria Jones
In a message of condolence, the Queen said the whole royal family were “deeply saddened” by the news.
The message said: “I am joined by the whole Royal Family in being deeply saddened by the news of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man who tirelessly championed human rights in South Africa and across the world.
“I remember with fondness my meetings with him and his great warmth and humour. Archbishop Tutu’s loss will be felt by the people of South Africa, and by so many people in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and across the Commonwealth, where he was held in such high affection and esteem.”
Tutu, who helped end apartheid in South Africa, died in Cape Town on Boxing Day.
Piyushi Kotecha, chief executive of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, and chairman Niclas Kjellstrom-Matseke said in a statement that Tutu was “a living embodiment of faith in action”.
In a statement on the foundation’s website, they added he spoke “boldly against racism, injustice, corruption and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society.”
According to the trust, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town. A cause of death has not been given.
Nicknamed “The Arch”, Tutu was made the first black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986 and was a driving force to end the policy of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.
His work led to him receiving numerous doctorates and academic awards from all over the world. He retired from public life in 2010 yet continued to do charity work through the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
Announcing the death, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa”.
An uncompromising foe of apartheid in South Africa, Tutu worked tirelessly and peacefully for its downfall.
The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town as well as frequent public demonstrations to galvanise public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally.
Mr Ramaphosa added: “From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights.”
Tutu died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Trust said in a statement on Sunday.
He had been treated in hospital several times since 2015, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997.
The trust’s statement added: “Typically, he turned his own misfortune into a teaching opportunity to raise awareness and reduce the suffering of others.