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Lady Patricia Routledge, who has died at the age of 96, etched her presence on the national consciousness as the pretentious Mrs. Bouquet.

Insisting it was "said Bouquet," the character ran roughshod over her long-suffering husband and bewildered neighbours in Keeping Up Appearances, one of Britain's most successful comedies in the 1990s.

Behaving like a aristocrat while living in a suburban area, Bucket's over-the-top status-seeking schemes were in the end doomed to collapse—while she battled to keep her composure.

It was Lady Routledge's best-known part in a professional life that saw her earn stage awards on both sides of the Atlantic, become the lead of Alan Bennett's celebrated TV soliloquies, and become BBC1's investigative Hetty Wainthropp.

Formative Years and Start in Acting

Katherine Patricia Routledge was delivered in Birkenhead on 17 February 1929.

Her dad was a clothier and she later recalled sheltering from German bombs in the cellar of his store throughout the war.

She majored in literature at local the University of Liverpool and planned to become a teacher. Rather, she entered the local theatre prior to training at the Bristol drama school.

Her successful stage journey took her from the provinces to the West End, and eventually to Broadway, where Leonard Bernstein chose her to appear in his stage production 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1976.

She had already received a Tony award for her acting in Darling of the Day.

She could move smoothly from comedies to serious drama.

She progressed from Stratford-upon-Avon, appearing with the RSC and then to the National Theatre in the capital.

There, her starring part in the stage musical Carousel involved her singing the inspiring You'll Never Walk Alone.

She also took various supporting film roles, especially in 1967's To Sir, With Love, and the Jerry Lewis comedy outing Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River.

Her stage and radio work demonstrated her versatility and won her awards, but it was the small screen that provided Routledge with her best-known roles.

Television Success and Iconic Characters

Initial television work included well-liked shows like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son.

And later, one of Britain's esteemed playwrights, the dramatist, penned a set of remarkable Talking Heads TV monologues for her.

Routledge conquered her early hesitation to perform his material and shone as A Woman of No Importance and A Lady of Letters.

She went onto portray a lonely, mid-life shop assistant drawn into a affair with a unconventional podiatrist in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

A humorous performance as the exaggerated character on The Victoria Wood Show resulted in the development of Mrs. Bouquet.

Routledge recalled being given the scripts by the author, the screenwriter—who had also done Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours.

"I had opened the script for a while at 1 a.m. in the morning," she said, "I read straight through and Hyacinth jumped off the script. I knew that woman, I knew a few of that type."

Keeping Up Appearances aired for five series and featured several holiday specials.

In a documentary, she stated that fans had included Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Pope Benedict XVI.

It became BBC Worldwide's most-sold show of all time and ensured Routledge was recognised as far away as Africa.

For her work on the sitcom, she was chosen Britain's all-time best-loved actress in 1996, but following five years in the part, she felt it was time for a change.

"I decided to end it to an end," she said, "and, of course, the BBC didn’t care for very much."

She believed that Roy Clarke was beginning to recycle ideas and recalled a bit of advice from the comedian, the comic.

"He made sure to finish with audiences saying, ‘Oh, won't you do any more?’ she recalled, rather than fans saying, ‘Is that still on?’"

Subsequent Work and Private Life

Portraying the homely but astute detective in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates brought her ongoing popularity on TV, but she consistently referred to the theatre as "the test."

Years after she stopped appearing regularly on screen, Routledge made theatre tours both in the UK and overseas.

If journalists asked the inevitable question, she asked them to spell out the word withdrawal since, she explained: "It isn't in my lexicon."

She never wed or raised kids, but told interviewers of a couple of significant affairs in her younger days, including one with a wedded man.

"I felt remorse and an sharp feeling that there had to be pain," she admitted. "I suppose I convinced myself that it was acceptable for the moment because his union was not a living thing."

Instead, she dedicated herself to her craft, serving it with the talent, dedication and commitment that were always respected by her peers.

She was scathing about the BBC's decision in 2016 to revive Keeping Up Appearances, but this time set in the 1950s and featuring a more youthful version of her character.

Questioning the Corporation's approach of resurrecting old sitcoms she remarked, "For what reason are they attempting this kind of project, they have to be out of ideas."

She had already clashed with the BBC over their decision to not commission a documentary she had authored about the writer the children's author (Routledge was a Patron of the Beatrix Potter Society), which finally broadcast on Channel 4.

Upon reaching 90, she persisted to reside peacefully in Chichester, where she busied herself collecting funds for the cathedral roof.

In 2017, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire but—unlike Hyacinth—honors never affect her head.

Lady Patricia always stated she credited her Northern roots and stable background for giving her practicality with her time and her finances.

Nonetheless, she admitted that, if any extra money arrive, she'd definitely use it on "several bottles of sparkling wine"—an love of the better things in life that she had in common with her most famous character.

"I was never stage-struck," she declared. "I'm not stage-struck today. No one is as amazed than myself that I have, actually, spent my life pursuing acting."