Ethel Kennedy: Human rights advocate dies at 96

Ethel Kennedy, a human rights advocate and the widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died aged 96, her family says.

A matriarch of one of America’s most famous political dynasties, she died on Wednesday after suffering a stroke a week ago, the family member said.

Her grandson, Joe Kennedy, posted a statement online to announce the passing of “our amazing grandmother”.

She was by her husband Robert F Kennedy’s side when the Democratic presidential candidate was fatally shot in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen in 1968. Five years earlier, her brother-in-law, President John F Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

A statement posted on social media by the Kennedy family said: “It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother, Ethel Kennedy.

“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.”

It described her as a “devout Catholic”, adding: “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.”

Ms Kennedy founded the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights foundation months after her late-husband’s assassination, while still pregnant with their 11th child.

The foundation is dedicated to advancing human rights through litigation.

Following her death, the foundation wrote of its founder: “After founding Robert F Kennedy Human Rights months after her husband’s death in 1968, Ethel Kennedy became a political force in her own right, personally tackling human rights issues both at home and abroad.”

It described her as a “champion for justice, standing with human rights defenders around the globe”.

The foundation said she “lived a tremendously impactful life”, adding, “May she rest in eternal peace.”