Daniel Stewart Shares Tribute to Estranged Father Patrick Stewart

Daniel Stewart, son of the late actor Sir Patrick Stewart, has shared a poignant tribute to his father following his death at age 86. The tribute comes despite years of estrangement between father and son, a subject the elder Stewart had openly discussed with regret.

Patrick Stewart passed away on Wednesday after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. His son Daniel, also an actor, took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to post a photograph of himself giving his father a piggyback ride. The image was captured during their joint production of "Johnson Over Jordan" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2001. Daniel Stewart offered no caption or additional context, allowing the image to speak for itself.

In interviews prior to his death, Patrick Stewart expressed deep regret over his distant relationships with Daniel, 59, and his younger sister Sophie, 54. He told the Irish Independent in 2023 that he experienced "significant grief" over the estrangement, describing his relationship with his children as "practically non-existent." Stewart attributed this distance to prioritizing his acting work above his family life.

"I never thought this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s – they're not children anymore, they're adults," Stewart stated in the interview. "And my relationship with them is practically non-existent." He acknowledged that "not a day goes by" that he didn't regret the situation, feeling "pained by the memory of [his] children" and recognizing his responsibility in their upbringing.

Stewart also discussed his family life in his 2023 memoir, "Making It So," referring to his relationships with Daniel and Sophie as "a work in progress." He noted that the hurt from his divorce from their mother, Sheila Falconer, had never fully healed. However, he expressed joy in his relationships with his four grandchildren, stating that "my own children seem to have forgiven me."

Patrick Stewart was married three times. His first marriage was to Sheila Falconer from 1966 to 1990, with whom he had Daniel and Sophie. He was married to American TV producer Wendy Neuss from 2000 to 2003, and to singer Sunny Ozell from 2013 until his death. Stewart met Ozell in 2008, and their wedding in 2013 was officiated by his X-Men co-star Ian McKellen.

Stewart's death was confirmed via a statement on his Instagram page, which detailed his final moments at his Los Angeles home surrounded by his wife, family, and friends. The statement described his passing as being in "the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."