EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> <br />The former king of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, died Monday at a hospital in China.<br/> <br />Sihanouk was a pre-eminent figure in Cambodia's history through a large part of the 20th century.<br/> <br />He held considerable power in the 1950s and 60s when, as a young, flamboyant ruler he came to symbolise Cambodia's liberation from French rule.<br/> <br />Sihanouk however will also be remembered as a puppet kept by the Khmer Rouge during their 1970s reign of terror that killed almost a quarter of the Cambodian population.<br/> <br />In 1991 Sihanouk oversaw an historic peace agreement signed by the country's warring factions and Vietnam - which had invaded Cambodia to topple the Khmer Rouge.<br/> <br />Flags at the Cambodian Embassy in Beijing were flown at half staff in his honour.<br/> <br />Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Sihanouk's son King Norodom Sihamony will accompany the body as it is returned to Cambodia for a state funeral at the Royal Palace.<br/> <br />Sihanouk was 89 years old.
