Guardian production director Fiona Morris praised production staff at West Ferry Printers and the Yorkshire Post for seamlessly increasing the pagination of the Observer from a 26pp front section to 32pp.

"The news came in at 10 to six, which meant that some of the earlier editions carried the news of her death without the extra pages. But our press centres are brilliant and allowed us to stick to our deadlines," said Morris.

Other production departments working overtime included the Sunday Mirror, with 41 pages devoted to the news, 57 in the Sunday Express, and 74, including a magazine, with the Mail on Sunday.