Queen 'saddened' by Hillary's death

The New Zealand adventurer, who died on Thursday aged 88, shot to fame when he scaled the world's highest mountain along with Tenzing Norgay on May 29 1953, just days before Elizabeth II's coronation.

After returning from the summit, the famously matter-of-fact climber greeted a fellow expedition member with the words: "Well, George, we've knocked the b****** off."

Buckingham Palace said the Queen was sending a personal message of sympathy to Sir Edmund's widow and family.

The monarch met the adventurer - who was made a Garter Knight in 1995 - many times, most recently at the garter ceremony in Windsor in 2004. She also met him at a garden party during her 2002 tour of New Zealand.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said of Sir Edmund: "He was a truly great hero who captured the imagination of the world, a towering figure who will always be remembered as a pioneer explorer and leader."

Conservative leader David Cameron described the adventurer as "a giant of the 20th century".

"His and Tenzing Norgay's conquest of Everest represents one of the great peaks of human achievement, and the work Sir Edmund did to help the Sherpa people of Nepal is testament to the friendship they forged," he said. "He was a great New Zealander, who provided the most auspicious start to the reign of the Queen, and has been a credit to the Commonwealth ever since."

British adventurer and environmentalist Pen Hadow said Sir Edmund's death closed "one of the great chapters of planetary exploration", while actor and mountaineer Brian Blessed, who attempted to scale Everest three times, described him as a "kind of titan".

Sir Edmund wrote of his and Tenzing's final push to the roof of the world: "Another few weary steps and there was nothing above us but the sky. There was no false cornice, no final pinnacle. We were standing together on the summit. There was enough space for about six people. We had conquered Everest."