Mourners gather for Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia Routledge’s funeral

Hundreds of mourners have gathered for the funeral of Keeping Up Appearances star Dame Patricia Routledge.

The service, at Chichester Cathedral in West Sussex, was introduced as a day to celebrate a “dear friend” for her long life and “many achievements”.

Dame Patricia died last month at the age of 96.

The tribute was read by the Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling, who said Dame Patricia had an “instinctive ability, not merely to observe people, but to absorb their characteristics, especially solitary people with hidden vulnerabilities”.

“She never talked about it,  but she was a prodigiously generous philanthropist.

“She donated more than £1 million to causes that benefit young people, especially those beginning their careers in music or theatre.

“Many such people and numerous charitable causes will continue to benefit through the Patricia Routledge Foundation.”

He said that out of all the roles she played, “one that gave her particular satisfaction” was the lead in BBC crime drama series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

He went on: “This unassuming television series, which to Patricia’s annoyance, was discontinued while still very popular, tackled many major social issues, all of which were important to her.

“These included unemployment, homelessness, drug addiction and loneliness.

“Despite her seemingly extrovert personality, she was sensitive and troubled by such issues and their victims.”

Dame Patricia was best known for her role as Hyacinth Bucket in BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, playing the hilariously snobbish character in the early 1990s.

Written by Roy Clarke, Keeping Up Appearances also starred the late Clive Swift as Hyacinth’s long-suffering husband Richard in the series, which ran from 1990 to 1995 and also became popular in the US.

She also had a prolific career in the theatre.