Beautiful way Judi Dench honoured Maggie Smith at her funeral: 'I had it in my pocket'

Judi Dench has revealed the heartwarming way she honoured the life of her friend and fellow dame Maggie Smith, who died in September at the age of 89. 

The actress has long been known for planting trees in loving memory of her nearest and dearest on the grounds of her private forest home in Surrey. 

Dench told the BBC that on the day of Smith's funeral, her gardener found a crab apple on the tree she planted in the Downton Abbey star's memory. 

READ MORE: 'A very sad thing': Shock as beloved reality TV couple splits after three years

Judi Dench carried a special memento in her pocket at Maggie Smith's funeral. (Getty)

"Joe, who works for me, came in, and he had one little crab apple," she said in the broadcast.

"And so I had it in my pocket at her funeral, which was a very nice thing to have."

Dench has a forest filled with trees honouring many of entertainment's biggest stars, telling Louis Theroux it included tributes to Alan Rickman, Helen McCrory, Natasha Richardson, Stephen Sondheim and more.

In October, Dench broke down in tears when asked about her recently departed friends, Smith and Barbara Leigh-Hunt.

READ MORE: 'Such a legend': Star of beloved '70s sitcom dies at 87

"And so I had it in my pocket at her funeral, which was a very nice thing to have." (Getty)

Interviewer Brendan O'Hea asked Dench about her late friends as she shared some personal anecdotes at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

"I know I probably shouldn't bring this up, I know the last week has been tricky for you because you lost your great friends Maggie Smith and Barbara Leigh-Hunt," O'Hea began.

READ MORE: Actress and reality star expecting their first child together

He asked Dench what she meant when she once compared grief to petrol while describing the loss of her husband, actor Michael Williams, in 2001.

"I suppose the energy that's created by grief..." Dench began before breaking down in tears and being unable to continue.

Dench, Smith, Eileen Atkins and Joan Plowright in Tea With the Dames. (Field Day Films; Kew Media Group;)

Though she didn't mention her friends by name, she then shared with the audience that the trees she plants in memory of her late loved ones.

Dench and Smith's friendship began in the 1950s after they first met backstage at the Old Vic Theatre in London.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

The friends had appeared on screen together several times throughout their long careers, including in A Room with a View (1985), Ladies in Lavender (2004), and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011).

Smith died peacefully in a hospital, per the September statement released by her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.

The beloved actresses starred together in many projects, including Ladies in Lavender. (Lakeshore International)

"It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith," they said. 

"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 was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire, the equivalent of a knight, in 1990. She married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967. They had two sons, Christopher and Toby, and divorced in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.