Doctors attending to Nelson Mandela in his final hours warned the family he was slipping away, Makaziwe Mandela, his eldest daughter, has told the BBC.
"They [the doctors] told us on Thursday morning that there was nothing that they could do.
"They said to me: 'Maki, call everybody that is here that wants to see him and say bye-bye'," Makaziwe said.
She described Mandela's final days as "wonderful" because he was surrounded by his loved ones.
"I think, from Friday last week until Thursday, it was a wonderful time, if you can say the process of death is wonderful, but Tata had a wonderful time, because we were there .
"It was a most wonderful day for us because the grandchildren were there, we were there, the professional doctors ."
Makaziwe praised the doctors for their dedication in looking after the 95-year-old statesman 24 hours a day: "Being there it was like there were soldiers guarding, soldiers guarding the spirit of the king - yes, my father comes from royalty - without them knowing, they were actually practising our rituals and culture .
"They were there in silence and when we, as family members, came in, they would excuse themselves and just a few of them would be there to give us the time to be around my dad's bed.
"And so, even for the grandchildren, I think it was a wonderful moment ." she said.
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