(AP) Queen Elizabeth II and British Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch have sent messages of condolences to the Bush family.

British embassy spokesman Andrew Overton says Wednesday that Darroch also issued a statement that said the U.K. government is “deeply saddened” by the loss of Barbara Bush, who died Tuesday at 92. Darroch said as one of only two women to be the wife of one U.S. president and the mother of another, “Barbara Bush was a very special person in American history.”

Darroch said the wife of former President George H.W. Bush will be “remembered for her care and compassion for her fellow Americans, for her unfailing efforts to promote literacy, and for her devotion to her family. A great orator, widely admired and dedicated to public service, she will be dearly missed.”

 

 

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, whose last years in office overlapped the Bush presidency, is remembering Barbara Bush as warm and astute.

In a statement of condolence to the Bush family on Wednesday, Gorbachev said: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Barbara, and on this day I remember everything was connected with us, our numerous meetings. Barbara did a lot to build trust and friendship between us. She immediately developed a warm relationship with Raisa, they communicated easily and at ease ”

 

 

Jenna Bush Hager’s father-in-law, former Virginia Lt. Gov. John Hager, remembers former first lady Barbara Bush as a “marvelous woman.”

Hager tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch (https://bit.ly/2EUx8BD) that Bush “was a real matriarch in every sense of the word.”

Barbara Bush, the wife of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, died Tuesday at 92.

Jenna Bush Hager, the Bush’s granddaughter, is married to Henry Hager.

John Hager says Barbara Bush “was real friendly to us and could not have been a better hostess,” noting that the Bush family was down-to-earth and welcoming.

Hager added: “She was always very gracious to us. I think they liked Henry and that was the end of it. They’ve been great to us ever since.”

 

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to George H.W. Bush following the death of his wife, Barbara.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Putin sent a telegram to the former president offering his condolences.

 

The ruler of Kuwait is mourning the death of Barbara Bush, whose husband the Arab nation has long celebrated for securing its freedom from Iraqi occupation in the 1991 Gulf War.

State-run news agency KUNA reported Wednesday that Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah sent letters of condolence to former President George H.W. Bush and his son, former President George W. Bush. The letter describes Barbara Bush as a person “who enjoyed a life of love and admiration from the American people.”

State-affiliated newspaper Al Anbaa published an appreciation of the former first lady online with the headline: “Barbara Bush: First Lady Who Knew about the Kuwait Liberation Zero Hour.” It highlights her 1993 and 2001 visits to Kuwait, where she was warmly received by dignitaries and Kuwaiti women.

Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama will accompany their husbands to Saturday’s funeral in Houston.

First Lady Melania Trump will also attend the funeral.