Nelson Mandela's daughter Makaziwe has told the BBC about the "wonderful" final hours of the former president, who died aged 95 last Thursday.
Ms Mandela said his wife Graca, the children and grandchildren were all there to say goodbye.
South Africa is observing a series of commemorations over the next week, leading up to the funeral on Sunday.
More than 100 current or former heads of state or government will attend the funeral or Tuesday's national memorial.
Makaziwe Mandela told the BBC's Komla Dumor: "Until the last moment he had us, you know... The children were there, the grandchildren were there, Graca was there, so we are always around him and even at the last moment, we were sitting with him on Thursday the whole day."
She said: "I think from last week, Friday until Thursday, it was a wonderful time, if you can say the process of death is wonderful. But Tata [Nelson Mandela] had a wonderful time, because we were there.
"When the doctors told us I think Thursday morning... that there was nothing that they could do, and said to me 'Maki call everybody that is here that wants to see him and say bye bye', it was a most wonderful day for us because the grandchildren were there, we were there."
Ms Mandela paid tribute to the doctors for the 24-hour care.
She said: "It was like there were soldiers guarding this period of the king - yes my father comes from royalty - without them knowing they were actually practising our rituals and culture, they were there in silence and when we as family members come in they would excuse themselves and just a few of them would be there to give us the time to be around my dad's bed."
Ms Mandela said that, for the past few months, she would tell her father that she loved him and that would see him again tomorrow.
"And maybe he would open his eyes for just a second and close those eyes," she said.
Ms Mandela said she believed her father had fought not just for political freedom but also for spiritual freedom.
"He talks about the fact that it takes courage to forgive. Forgiveness is a very difficult thing," she said.
"I think he knew that if he didn't forgive, he would be forever imprisoned spiritually. The lesson we can take from his life is to have the courage to forgive other people.
"None of us are born hating another - we are taught to hate and if you can teach a human being to hate you can also teach a human being to love, to embrace and to forgive."
南非已故前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉于2013年12月5日（星期四）逝世，享年95岁。其女马卡兹维在接受英国广播公司采访时，谈到了父亲临终前的“美好时刻”。
曼德拉女士称，在父亲逝世前，曼德拉的妻子格拉萨以及他的子孙们都陪伴在他身边，直到最后时刻。
南非将在未来的一周内举行各类纪念活动，12月15日（星期日）将举行国葬，并将曼德拉先生的遗体安葬在他的家乡古努镇。
预计将有上百名各国现任及前任国家元首以及政府首脑出席曼德拉的葬礼。
马卡兹维·曼德拉接受英国广播公司采访时说：“我们陪伴他直到生命的最后一刻……子孙们都陪伴在他身边，格拉萨也在他身边。即使在他生命的最后一刻，我们也一直坐在他身边，和他共度了周四一整天的时光。”
她说：“在Tata（纳尔逊·曼德拉）逝世的前一个星期，即从上周五开始一直到周四的时间里，因为有了我们的陪伴，父亲度过了这段最后的‘美好时光’。”
“周四早上，医生告诉我们他们已尽最大努力，并建议我‘电话通知大家见他最后一面，和他道别’。孙子们都来到了他的跟前，我们也在他周围陪着他，那是美好的时刻。”
曼德拉女士感谢医生对曼德拉24小时的照顾。
她说：“他们就像士兵一样，守卫着这个时代的王者——是的，我的父亲出身部落王室——也许他们不知道，他们正以实际行动践行我们的仪式与文化传统。 在我们进来前，他们安静地守卫在一旁；当看到作为家属的我们进来时，他们中的大部分人找借口退了出去，仅留下小部分人守在房中，以便我们有更多时间陪在父 亲的病床前。”
曼德拉女士说，在过去的几个月中，她多希望每一天都和父亲说，她深爱着他并希望第二天能再见到他。“即使他可以仅仅将眼睛睁开几秒，然后再闭上双眼，”
曼德拉女士说，她相信他的父亲不仅为政治自由而战，也为精神自由而战。
“曼德拉曾说过，原谅需要勇气；而饶恕更是一件非常困难的事情。”
在曼德拉女士看来，如果曼德拉不曾宽恕，他将永远被禁锢于精神监狱之中。他用实际行动告诉我们，我们需要用勇气其宽恕他人。
“没有人生来就怨恨他人——既然我们是在成长中学会怨恨，那么我们也能在人类成长的过程中教会他们如何去爱，去拥抱，去宽恕。”