Farewell, Dad: Sean Connery is pictured for the last time with his son

He will always be remembered as the big-screen’s iconic James Bond but to his children, Sean Connery was just dad.

A poignant last photo of the screen legend shows him on his 89th birthday last year with his son, Jason (57), and Jason’s long-time partner, singer Fiona Ufton.

In the photo, which Ufton shared on Twitter on 25 August 2019, the Scottish actor looks playfully away from the camera with a slight smile as he points in the air with his index finger.

Sean (90) died in his sleep at his Bahamas home that he shared with his second wife, Micheline Roquebrune (91).

In a statement his publicist confirmed, “there will be a private ceremony followed by a memorial once the virus has ended”.

Speaking to the BBC, Jason, who is also an actor, confirmed his dad had been “unwell for some time” due to dementia.

Jason is Sean’s son from his first marriage to Diane Cilento, an Australian actress who died of cancer in 2011. They divorced in 1973 and in 1975 he married Micheline, a Moroccan-French painter and mom of three.

In an interview with the UK’s Mail on Sunday, Micheline spoke of her husband’s struggle with dementia. “It took its toll on him. It was no life for him. He was not able to express himself latterly. At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful. I was with him all the time and he just slipped away. It was what he wanted.”

He was best known for playing British spy 007 in the James Bond films (Photo: Alamy/Gallo Images)

Tributes have poured in from the acting community and fans who have hailed him as “the world's greatest Scot and the last of the real Hollywood stars”.

 Sources: dailymail.co.uk, today.com, Twitter