Veteran actor Christopher Lee has passed away at the age of 93, his family has confirmed.

The screen legend, known for his iconic roles as Dracula and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, died on Sunday at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Sources close to the family confirmed to the Telegraph that the actor was being treated for respiratory problems and heart failure in the weeks leading up to his death.

Lady Lee, who had been married to the star for 50 years, reportedly chose to delay making the announcement public so that she could first inform family members.

Lee first found fame in the 1950 when he starred in the Hammer Horror franchise, later becoming well known for his role as Scaramanga in classic Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun.

Speaking about his playing Dracula so many times, Lee told Total Film: "They gave me nothing to do! I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that Bram Stoker had written.

Christopher Lee: Life In Pictures 18 show all Christopher Lee: Life In Pictures 1/18 Passed away Christopher Lee has passed away at 93 (Picture: Jon Lyons/REX) Jon Lyons/REX 2/18 Red carpet Lee at the Skyfall premiere in 2013 (Picture: REX) REX 3/18 Icon The actor was originally known of his role as Dracula. 4/18 Horror genre In The Wicker Man with Edward Woodward. Allstar 5/18 Hair-raising A scene from The Wicker Man. Allstar 6/18 Bond role In The Man with The Golden Gun (Picture: As Allstar/Cinetext/UNITED ARTISTS) Allstar 7/18 Typecast Lee tried to move away from his horror roles later in his career (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Everett Collection/REX 8/18 Monster In the curse of Frankenstein (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Everett Collection/REX 9/18 TheThreeMusketeers.jpg The Three Musketeers (1973), starring Christopher Lee as Rochefort and Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu.(Picture: c.20thC.Fox/Everett/REX) Everett/REX 10/18 New roles Christopher Lee in The Brides of Fu Manchu (Picture: Moviestore Collection/REX) Rex 11/18 Breakthrough Dracula (1958), with Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. 12/18 Hammer horror The Hound of the Baskervilles. Allstar 13/18 TV star Michael Brandon, Christopher Lee and Yolanda Vazquez star in the Care Of Time. 14/18 Horror icon With Peter Cushing in the Mummy (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Rex 15/18 Marriage With wife Gitte. REX 16/18 Charity work With Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and at the Cinema for Peace Charity Gala in 2012. Rex 17/18 Down the aisle Wedding of Christopher Lee and new wife Birgit Lee (Picture: REX) 18/18 Family man Lee with his wife Gitte and daughter Christina at Heathrow Airport. elib 1/18 Passed away Christopher Lee has passed away at 93 (Picture: Jon Lyons/REX) Jon Lyons/REX 2/18 Red carpet Lee at the Skyfall premiere in 2013 (Picture: REX) REX 3/18 Icon The actor was originally known of his role as Dracula. 4/18 Horror genre In The Wicker Man with Edward Woodward. Allstar 5/18 Hair-raising A scene from The Wicker Man. Allstar 6/18 Bond role In The Man with The Golden Gun (Picture: As Allstar/Cinetext/UNITED ARTISTS) Allstar 7/18 Typecast Lee tried to move away from his horror roles later in his career (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Everett Collection/REX 8/18 Monster In the curse of Frankenstein (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Everett Collection/REX 9/18 TheThreeMusketeers.jpg The Three Musketeers (1973), starring Christopher Lee as Rochefort and Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu.(Picture: c.20thC.Fox/Everett/REX) Everett/REX 10/18 New roles Christopher Lee in The Brides of Fu Manchu (Picture: Moviestore Collection/REX) Rex 11/18 Breakthrough Dracula (1958), with Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. 12/18 Hammer horror The Hound of the Baskervilles. Allstar 13/18 TV star Michael Brandon, Christopher Lee and Yolanda Vazquez star in the Care Of Time. 14/18 Horror icon With Peter Cushing in the Mummy (Picture: Everett Collection/REX) Rex 15/18 Marriage With wife Gitte. REX 16/18 Charity work With Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and at the Cinema for Peace Charity Gala in 2012. Rex 17/18 Down the aisle Wedding of Christopher Lee and new wife Birgit Lee (Picture: REX) 18/18 Family man Lee with his wife Gitte and daughter Christina at Heathrow Airport. elib

"Occasionally, I sneaked one in. Eventually I told them that I wasn’t going to play Dracula any more. All hell broke loose."

Lee continued in the horror genre throughout the 60s and 70s, starring in critically acclaimed films including The Wicker Man and I Monster, in which he played Jekyll and Hyde.

In 1977, the star moved from the UK to the US after admitting that he wanted to expand his repertoire and move away from being typecast in horror roles.

Big parts in blockbusters including Lord of the Rings and Star Wars followed later in his career.

The actor was knighted in 2009 for his services to drama and charity and was awarded the Bafta Fellowship in 2011.