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Lady Pat Routledge, who passed away at the age of 96, imprinted herself on the British consciousness as the pretentious Mrs. Bouquet.

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

Behaving like a aristocrat while living in a suburban area, Hyacinth's over-the-top status-seeking schemes were ultimately doomed to failure—while she struggled to keep her dignity.

It was Lady Patricia's most famous part in a career that saw her earn stage honors on each side of the Atlantic, emerge as the star of Alan Bennett's celebrated TV monologues, and become BBC1's crime-busting Mrs. Wainthropp.

Formative Life and Start in Acting

Katherine Pat Routledge was born in Birkenhead on 17 February 1929.

Her dad was a clothier and she remembered sheltering from enemy air raids in the basement of his store throughout the war.

She studied literature at nearby the University of Liverpool and intended to become a teacher. Rather, she entered the Liverpool Playhouse prior to studying at the Bristol drama school.

Her successful acting journey brought her from the provinces to the West End, and finally to Broadway, where the composer selected her to appear in his stage production 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1976.

She had previously won a Tony honor for her acting in Darling of the Day.

She could transition smoothly from comedies to classics.

She progressed from Shakespeare's birthplace, appearing with the RSC and later to the National Theatre in London.

At the National, her starring part in the stage musical Carousel involved her performing the rousing You'll Never Walk Alone.

There were also several minor film roles, notably in the 1967 film To Sir, With Love, and the comedian's funny film Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River.

Her stage and radio performances demonstrated her versatility and earned her awards, but it was the small screen that gave Routledge with her most high profile roles.

Television Breakthrough and Memorable Roles

Initial small-screen appearances featured popular shows like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son.

And later, one of Britain's most respected writers, the dramatist, wrote a series of remarkable Talking Heads TV monologues for her.

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

She later portray a isolated, middle-aged department store clerk tipped into a relationship with a kinky foot doctor in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

A comic performance as the exaggerated Kitty on The Victoria Wood Show resulted in the creation of Mrs. Bouquet.

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

"I had opened the pages for a moment at 1 a.m. in the morning," she recalled, "I went straight through and the character leapt off the script. I knew that woman, I'd met several of that type."

Keeping Up Appearances ran for five seasons and included several Christmas specials.

In a film, she stated that admirers had included Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and the pontiff.

It became the broadcaster's most exported show ever and meant Routledge was recognised as distant as Africa.

For her performance on the sitcom, she was voted the UK's all-time favourite actor in 1996, but following five years in the part, she decided it was time for a change.

"I brought it to an end," she explained, "which, naturally, the broadcaster didn’t care for at all."

She thought that the writer was beginning to recycle concepts and recalled a bit of advice from the performer, the comic.

"He made sure to finish with people saying, ‘Oh, aren’t you doing any more?’ she said, rather than fans remarking, ‘Is that still running?’"

Later Roles and Personal Reflections

Portraying the homely but sharp sleuth in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates brought her continued success on TV, but she always referred to the theatre as "the real challenge."

Years after she ceased acting regularly on screen, Routledge made stage travels both in the UK and overseas.

If journalists posed the predictable question, she requested them to spell out the word retirement since, she clarified: "It isn't in my vocabulary."

She never married or raised kids, but told the press of two great romances in her youth, including one with a married man.

"I felt guilt and an sharp feeling that there had to be pain," she confessed. "I guess I convinced myself that it was acceptable for the moment as his marriage was no a vibrant thing."

In place of family, she devoted herself to her craft, serving it with the skill, discipline and commitment that were consistently respected by her peers.

She was scathing about the BBC's choice in 2016 to bring back Keeping Up Appearances, but this time placed in the 1950s and starring a younger incarnation of her role.

Questioning the Corporation's approach of rebooting classic comedies she said, "Why are they attempting this kind of thing, they have to be desperate."

She had previously clashed with the BBC over their decision not to commission a documentary she had authored about the writer Beatrix Potter (Routledge was a Patron of the literary group), which finally broadcast on another network.

Upon reaching 90, she persisted to reside quietly in Chichester, where she busied herself raising funds for the cathedral structure.

In 2017, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire but—in contrast to Hyacinth—titles did not go to her head.

Dame Routledge always said she thanked her north of England upbringing and stable family for giving her practicality with her time and her money.

Even so, she admitted that, if any extra cash come her way, she'd definitely use it on "several bottles of champagne"—an love of the better things in existence that she shared with her most famous character.

"I was never theatre-obsessed," she declared. "I am not stage-struck now. Nobody's more surprised than I am that I have, in fact, devoted my career doing acting."