Renowned Welsh Singer Iris Williams, Who Performed for Queen Elizabeth II, Passes Away at 79

Renowned Welsh singer Iris Williams passed away at the age of 79. Born in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf in 1946, Williams performed internationally, including in the US where she resided at the time of her death. She received a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama while working in a glove factory in Llantrisant.

Williams had notable performances for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Albert Hall in London and for US President Gerald Ford. Raised in a children's home and with a foster family in Tonyrefail, she was the daughter of an American GI. Her popular songs included He Was Beautiful and Pererin Wyf, a Welsh version of Amazing Grace.

In the 1960s, Williams appeared on the Welsh BBC pop music show Disc A Dawn before having her own BBC TV program. She won the Welsh-language talent competition Cân i Gymru in 1974 with the song I gael Cymru'n Gymru Rydd. She also participated in a concert marking the opening of the National Assembly of Wales in 1999.

Williams was honored with an OBE in 2004 for her musical contributions and was admitted to the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod in 2006. Her brother Ashley praised her career and resilience, mentioning her performances in prestigious American cabaret venues singing Welsh songs.

Tributes poured in for Williams, with The St David's Society of the State of New York acknowledging her impact and connection to New York, where she had her only child. Opera singer Beverley Humphreys remembered Williams for her unique jazz style and storytelling ability through her music. Renowned opera singer Stuart Burrows also passed away at the age of 92, while The Alarm singer Mike Peters died at 66. Tributes were paid to cultural figure Geraint Jarman, who died at 74.