Another giant of 20th-century American politics passes away:

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and a longtime human rights activist, died Thursday, her family said. She was 96.

Former Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III announced the news of his grandmother's passing on X. Ethel Kennedy was hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week.

From Kennedy III's post:

It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother, Ethel Kennedy. She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week. Along with a lifetime's work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly.

She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie.

Please keep her in your hearts and prayers.

Kennedy, who was married to Robert F. Kennedy from 1950 to his assassination in 1968, was a prominent figure in the legendary Camelot era of Kennedy politics. She was often hailed as "more Kennedy than the Kennedys" for her fierce devotion to political life.

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy was also the mother of 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed her as "an American icon:"

Growing up in an Irish-Catholic family, I often looked to the Kennedy family for proof of America's promise. Ethel's husband, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was one of my heroes, inspiring an entire generation to make real that promise for all Americans. Together, they were guided by values that were the same as those my grandparents and parents taught me around the kitchen table: Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. We each have an obligation to one another, to give hate no safe harbor, and to leave no one behind.

Ethel and Robert Kennedy had 11 children together, whom she raised alone after his assassination, never remarrying.

She lived out her later years at the famed Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

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