Mandy Allwood with her partner Paul Hudson with the coffins of the eight unborn babies of Mandy Allwood, carried in procession during their funeral in West Norwood. Photo / Getty Images
Mandy Allwood with her partner Paul Hudson with the coffins of the eight unborn babies of Mandy Allwood, carried in procession during their funeral in West Norwood. Photo / Getty Images
Mandy Allwood, the mum who gave birth to eight babies she ended up having to bury, has died, aged 56, after a battle with cancer.
The British mother made headlines all over the world when, 26 years ago, she announced she was expecting octuplets.
At 24 weeks gestation, she gave birth to six boys and two girls. The labours took three days and three nights. None of the babies survived.
Over the following months, the world followed Allwood's grief, as the octomum mourned the loss of her babies.
She was even comforted by Princess Diana, who met her weeks after the tragedy.
In November 2007, she was arrested for driving while three times over the limit. Her three children were in the car with her.
The incident led to her losing custody of her children and eventually becoming estranged from her whole family.
According to The Sun, Allwood will be cremated today, in a service funded by the local council, without any mourners present.
A friend of the octomum told the media outlet that a group of her friends would raise a glass in her honour tonight.
"It's very sad that she won't have anyone at her funeral. They just say a little prayer and it's all over in five minutes I think," her friend Mark Beard told The Sun.
"She just didn't have anybody really and I don't think she was in touch with her family at all. It's a shame," he added.
"The flowers are going to be brought back here and put on the bar and around a dozen of us will be raising a glass to her. We wanted to mark it somehow. It only seems right."
Mandy Allwood and Paul Hudson in 1997. Photo / Getty Images
Allwood named her octuplets Kypros, Adam, Martyn, Cassius, Nelson, Donald, Kitali and Layne. Images of their tiny white coffins circulated around the globe at the time of their funerals.
At the time, she spoke of having to go through each of the miscarriages.
"Over three days and nights I miscarried eight times," she said.