House of Commons celebrates life
April 4, 2002
This was always going to be one of those occasions when the House of Commons was united - and so it was.
Politicians from all sides, most in black ties, joined together on a glorious spring day to pay tribute to the Queen Mother.
But, while there was universal sadness at her death, this was not a unity born purely out of grief. Rather, MPs had returned from their Easter break to celebrate a life.
And, fittingly, the occasion was marked as much by laughter as sorrow. Sense of fun
A nearly-full Commons heard a series of sincere tributes to a woman whose life spanned an extraordinary and often terrifying century.
Each speaker had a personal anecdote in which they attempted to sum up the Queen Mother's character and her impact on them.
They were dominated by examples not only of her sense of duty but also her sense of fun.
And speaker after speaker remarked on the momentous changes she had lived through and often played a part in.
As preparations were continuing in nearby Westminster Hall for the lying in state, the prime minister summed it up as well as anyone.
‘During that long life the Titanic sailed and sank when she was 11, World War One broke out on her 14th birthday, her first child was born in 1926, the year that television was invented.
‘She was the last Empress of India. In 1986 she became the oldest person to bear the title of Queen in the history of the British monarchy. Enjoyment of life
‘In all, she saw 20 different Prime Ministers pass through Downing Street.’ ‘One of my best memories of her personally is sitting with her at Balmoral as she told me of her personal recollections not just of Churchill and Attlee, but of Asquith, Lloyd George and Baldwin,’ he said.
And he brought laughter with an account of her reply to one Boer veteran who told her he could never forgive the English.
‘Oh, I do so understand, we in Scotland feel just the same,’ she said.
Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith said she was ‘the best of us’ and spoke of her ability to remain in touch and never appear anachronistic.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy also raised laughter with an anecdote about finding her bodyguard fast asleep at one event.
The bodyguard’s excuse was that he could not keep up with her.
There were many similar references to her spirit and enjoyment of life and her eagerness to rub shoulders with people from all walks of life.
It was not the most dramatic or emotional of Commons occasions - this was an event all had long been prepared for.
Instead it was a quiet, dignified and - ultimately - joyful celebration of the impact one woman had had on the lives of many.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has paid tribute to the Queen Mother saying she was a ‘unifying force’ who commanded the affection and respect of the whole nation.
He concluded: ‘There is nothing false or complicated about the public response to her death. It's the simplest of equations. She loved her country and her country loved her.’
Troops prepare royal procession April 4, 2002 A full rehearsal has taken place of the royal coffin's journey through central London to the lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.
More than 1,600 soldiers gathered at St James's Palace in the early hours of this morning for the dummy run of the procession, which takes place for real tomorrow morning.
At the centre was the horse-drawn gun carriage carrying a coffin draped in a Union Jack flag, and with a mock crown resting on top.
At the stroke of 6am, the procession was ordered to march and the carriage, pulled by four black horses, made its way past St James's Palace accompanied by an Army band.
As the sun came up the procession moved down the Mall, around Horse Guards' Parade and along Whitehall to Westminster Hall.
Friday's event will be the largest procession of its kind on Britain's streets since Sir Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965.
Tributes from around the world April 4, 2002 There have been tributes from many world leaders.
US President George W Bush was ‘deeply saddened’ by her death, the White House said, while UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said she had ‘won a special place in the hearts of countless people’ worldwide.
Tributes poured in from many Commonwealth countries, including Canada and Australia where her daughter Queen Elizabeth II is monarch.
But they also came from other monarchies and republics, including old allies such as Russia and France who recalled her morale-boosting role during the Second World War.
‘In Russia people knew Her Majesty well, and highly valued her contribution to the collective efforts of the anti-Hitler coalition,’ said President Vladimir Putin. A long and special life
President Jacques Chirac said that the French had come to love her when occupied France and Britain had fought against Hitler.
‘The kindness of her smile created one of the most loved faces of our times,’ he wrote in a personal letter to the Queen.
The Queen Mother's wartime work was also remembered by South African President Thabo Mbeki who praised her for setting ‘an example to the world in resisting racial tyranny as they did in the war against Hitlerism’.
Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, said it was an occasion to ‘give thanks for a very long and special life’.
Her life had been ‘dedicated to service, duty, support and her family’, he said.
For Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, she had been a ‘touchstone of timeless values and continuity’. 'Grand old lady'
The president of the Republic of Ireland, which achieved full independence during the reign of her husband George VI, remembered the Queen Mother with affection.
‘She was a remarkable woman whose personality, fortitude and strength of character shone through in an extraordinary way to add her long life,’ said Mary McAleese.
Royal families across Europe reacted with dismay to the news of the Queen Mother's death, with King Juan Carlos of Spain delivering his condolences by telephone, the royal palace said.
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf said that the ‘grand old lady’ had ‘served Britain with humour and elegance to the end’.
From Jordan, King Abdullah offered ‘sincerest condolences to the British royal family for their grave loss’.
In Nepal, King Gyanendra said that the death was an ‘irreparable loss’.
Highland lament for the April 3, 2002
The royal coffin made a low-key arrival to London A lone piper played a Highland lament as the Queen Mother's coffin was carried solemnly from a small Windsor chapel yesterday on its way to the capital.
The Dark Island lament, played by Queen's Piper Pipe Major Jim Motherwell, left, was one of the Queen Mother's favourite tunes.
Draped in her personal royal standard and surmounted by a wreath of pink camellias, the coffin was taken from the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park to the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace in central London.
As the coffin, conveyed in an undertaker's hearse, travelled the 23-mile journey, people along the route bowed their heads or burst into spontaneous applause in appreciation of the Queen Mother's long life of service to the nation. Shed a tear
With little ceremony - that is being saved for later in the week and next Tuesday when the Queen Mother's funeral service takes place - the coffin was moved in a convoy of cars and police motorcycle out-riders with flashing blue lights.
A crowd of more than 1,000 onlookers watched as the coffin arrived at the Queen's Chapel, and a dozen members of the Queen Mother's staff stood opposite the entrance.
Her butler William Tallon, known affectionately as ‘Backstairs Billy’, shed a tear as the coffin was taken inside. Others bowed their heads in sorrow.
The coffin will rest at the Queen's Chapel until Friday when it will be taken to Westminster Hall. There, the Queen Mother's body will lie in state until the funeral at Westminster Abbey and interment in the George VI Memorial Chapel, within St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
All courts in England and Wales will close on the day of the funeral as a mark of respect, the Lord Chancellor's Department announced yesterday.
Betting shops will also stay shut for the day. Bookmakers William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes said they decided on the move after consulting across the racing industry.
Prince Charles pays moving personal tribute April 2, 2002
The Queen Mother and Prince Charles share a joke
The Prince of Wales yesterday paid a personal and tearful tribute to the Queen Mother – his ‘magical grandmother'.
He said she had served the UK with ‘panache, style and unswerving dignity’ for nearly 80 years, enriching the life of the nation and beyond.
Her death on Saturday at the age of 101 is understood to have particularly affected the prince, with whom she had a very close relationship.
In a personal and informal television statement from his Highgrove home, the prince became tearful as he recalled how he used to laugh with his grandmother until they cried. 'A mischievous spirit'
‘I know what my darling grandmother meant to so many other people. She literally enriched their lives and she was the original life enhancer, whether publicly or privately, whoever she was with.
‘And, in many ways, she had become an institution in her own right; a presence in the nation and in other realms and territories beyond these shores.
‘At once indomitable, somehow timeless, able to span the generations; wise, loving, and an utterly irresistible mischievousness of spirit.
‘An immensely strong character, combined with a unique natural grace, and an infectious optimism about life itself.
‘Above all she understood the British character and her heart belonged to this ancient old land and its equally indomitable and humorous inhabitants who she served with panache, style and unswerving dignity for very nearly 50 years.
‘I know too, what she meant to the whole of my family, particularly to the Queen for whom she was always such a stalwart and sensitive support ever since my grandfather died when he was just two and a half years older than I am now.
For me she meant everything.
I had dreaded this moment along with countless others. Somehow I didn't think it would come. 'I shall miss her laugh'
‘She seemed gloriously unstoppable and, since I was a child, I adored her.
‘Her houses were always filled with an atmosphere of fun, laughter and affection, and I learnt so much from her of immense value to my life.
‘Apart from anything else, she wrote such sparklingly wonderful letters and her turn of phrase could be utterly memorable.
‘Above all, she saw the funny side of life and we laughed until we cried - oh, how I shall miss her laugh and wonderful wisdom born of so much experience and an innate sensitivity to life.
‘She was quite simply the most magical grandmother you could possibly have, and I was utterly devoted to her.
‘Her departure has left an irreplaceable chasm in countless lives but, thank God, we are all the richer for the sheer joy of her presence and everything she stood for.’
The Queen Mother's unique words of wit and wisdom.
Queen Mother's final journey begins April 2, 2002
Pallbearers carried the coffin to the Royal Chapel The Queen Mother's coffin is to make its solemn journey from Windsor to St James's Palace in London today.
The coffin will leave the Royal Chapel at noon in a hearse which will carry it along the A4 and then through the outskirts of London.
Accompanied by police outriders, it will pass by Hyde Park, Constitution Hill, and along the Mall before being laid in the Queen's Chapel in St James's around 1.15pm
Buckingham Palace says the journey will not be ceremonial, describing it as an ‘administrative manoeuvre’. But crowds are expected to gather at some sites along the route.
The main ceremonial event will begin on Friday when the coffin is moved to Westminster Hall to lie in state. Break from tradition
The funeral is currently planned to be a Royal ceremonial funeral, with protocol dictating that state funerals are reserved for heads of state.
But Parliament and the Prime Minister could still award the accolade to the Queen Mother, with the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 a precedent.
Already, there will be a break from tradition when the Princess Royal walks in procession behind the coffin.
Flags have been flying at half-mast across the country and at embassies abroad. And at Windsor Castle, 600 people an hour have signed books of condolences.
April 1, 2002 The first public ceremonies honouring the Queen Mother are being held today with 41 gun salutes at a dozen military sites across the UK and Gibraltar.
Extra books of condolence are being opened and sporting events will pay tribute with one-minute silences and participants wearing black armbands.
The official public paying of respects follows the private service attended by grieving members of the Royal Family at Windsor yesterday, the day after the Queen Mother's death at the age of 101.
Her coffin is resting in the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park.
Draped in her royal standard and a wreath of pink camellias, it will remain in the chapel before being taken to London. Black armbands
There it will remain at the Queen's Chapel in St James's Palace for three days before a ceremonial procession takes it to Westminster Hall for the lying-in-state.
Westminster ceremony Downing Street has confirmed that despite the royal death Tony Blair will attend a planned weekend summit with US President George Bush at his Texas ranch, concentrating on Iraq and the war on terrorism.
But the prime minister will only fly out after a ceremony to mark the start of the Queen Mother's body lying-in-state and he will be back in time for the funeral, on Tuesday 9 April.
The gun tribute started at midday with one shot a minute fired for 40 minutes.
The salute was fired at: Hyde Park, London; The Tower of London; Firepower Museum, Woolwich; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; City Hall, Cardiff; Belfast; Aldershot; Dover Castle; Royal Citadel, Plymouth; York; Gibraltar.
Sunday's service for the Royal Family was the first time the family had been seen together in public since the Queen Mother died.
The Royal Family and the government said they did not expect sporting fixtures to be postponed or cancelled in the run-up to the funeral.
But the Football Association announced that players will wear black armbands and observe a minute's silence in memory of the Queen Mother.
Her beloved sport of racing will go ahead with jockeys wearing black armbands at the 15 meetings scheduled for today.
The Queen's planned visit to the North in May could be her first official engagement after the death of the Queen Mother.
Her Majesty was due to visit the region to open the Metro train extension on Wearside and Millennium City complex in Durham.
Palace sources have suggested the official period of mourning will be around a month, during which time the Queen will not undertake any royal duties.
Her visit to the North was scheduled for May 7 and 8, to officially open the Metro link between Sunderland and Tyneside.
She was expected to cut the ribbon at the Durham theatre and cinema complex as well visiting Darlington, Seaham, Easington and Blackhall Rocks, all County Durham.
Palace announces funeral details March 31, 2002
The Queen Mother's funeral will take place in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 9 April, Buckingham Palace has announced.
For four days before the funeral her body will be laid in state at Westminster Hall for the public to pay their respects.
The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep yesterday afternoon at the age of 101, at Windsor's Royal Lodge.
Her coffin was carried to the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park today where the Royal Family was gathering for an evensong service. Ceremonial procession
The coffin will rest at Windsor until Tuesday, when it will be taken to the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace in central London.
Then on Friday morning, the coffin will be carried in a ceremonial procession to Westminster Hall, where it will lie in state from Friday afternoon until the evening of Monday, 8 April.
The ceremonial funeral will be held at 11.30am on Tuesday. Afterwards, the coffin will travel by road to Windsor for a private committal service and interment at St George's Chapel.
The Queen Mother will then be laid to rest alongside her husband in the George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's.
She will be buried with the ashes of Princess Margaret, which will be taken from the Royal Vault at St George's and interred in the memorial chapel at the same time.
The Queen Mother requested there be no official memorial service.
Princes fly home to pay their respects March 31, 2002
Prince Charles arrives at RAF Northolt The Prince of Wales and his sons have been paying their respects to the Queen Mother at Windsor.
Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry arrived at Windsor Castle this afternoon after cutting short their skiing holiday in Klosters, Switzerland.
They flew in to RAF Northolt then travelled by car to Windsor's Royal Lodge to pay their respects before the coffin was moved to the Royal Chapel of All Saints.
The Queen had given the heir to the throne and his eldest son permission to fly on the same plane, something normally forbidden under royal protocol. Boys comfort their father
Charles is said to be ‘completely devastated’ by his grandmother's death.
The three princes were on the second day of their annual skiing holiday when the Queen Mother died.
Charles had just returned to the hotel on Saturday when he was telephoned by the Queen 15 minutes after her 101-year-old mother passed away in her sleep.
He broke the news to his sons in his hotel room when they returned from the ski slopes, about half an hour later.
The boys spent the evening comforting their father. The Prince of Wales last saw his grandmother on Thursday morning when he dropped by at Windsor to check how she was before flying to Switzerland.
March 31, 2002 Special prayers have been said at churches across the country following the death of the Queen Mother yesterday afternoon.
The Queen and senior members of the Royal Family held a private service in Windsor Castle.
In his Easter Sunday sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey gave thanks for the Queen Mother's life.
He said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the entire Royal Family, but especially with the Queen, who has lost first a sister and now a much-loved parent in a matter of weeks.’
The Duke of York as well as daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have returned from their holiday in Barbados and are now at Windsor. Focus for mourning
Also with the Queen is the Princess Royal, her husband Timothy Laurence and her two children Zara and Peter, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Condolence books Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, the Queen Mother's official London residence, are providing a focus for public mourning.
People began arriving at Windsor today bearing bunches and baskets of flowers and other floral tributes.
The castle and its grounds have been closed to the public as a mark of respect, but will open as normal tomorrow morning.
Tony Blair led the tributes from the nation with a statement from his official country residence at Chequers in which he said: ‘During her long and extraordinary life, her grace, her sense of duty and her remarkable zest for life made her loved and admired by people of all ages and backgrounds, revered within our borders and beyond.’
March 31, 2002 The House of Commons and House of Lords are to be recalled from their Easter break so that MPs and peers can pay their tributes to the Queen Mother.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Parliament would be recalled on Wednesday following discussions with the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, and the opposition parties.
There will also be discussions between Downing Street and Buckingham Palace over what role the prime minister will play in the funeral proceedings.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott said the recall would give MPs the opportunity to pay their respects to a ‘great lady’ who played an extraordinary part in the lives of this nation.
He said tributes and messages received from foreign governments, and especially those from the Commonwealth, demonstrated what a great loss her death was to the whole world.
The House of Commons and House of Lords are currently in recess for the Easter break, and the Commons was not due to sit again until Tuesday 9 April, the day of the Queen Mother's funeral.
It is only at times of great national importance that the Houses of Parliament hold sittings during their scheduled breaks.
In Autumn last year the House of Commons was recalled in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks on the US and subsequent military action in Afghanistan.
March 30, 2002
The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep this afternoon, Buckingham Palace has announced.
‘Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother had become increasingly frail in recent weeks following her bad cough and chest infection over Christmas,’ said a Palace spokesman.
‘Her condition deteriorated this morning and her doctors were called. Queen Elizabeth died peacefully in her sleep at 3.15 this afternoon at Royal Lodge, Windsor,’ said the spokesman.
‘The Queen was at her mother's bedside,’ he said.
The Queen Mother's coffin is expected to be moved to the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park tomorrow morning.
Her death comes less than two months after that of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, who died at the age of 71. The unexpected queen
The Queen Mother was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, on 4 August, 1900, the ninth of ten children of Lord and Lady Glamis.
In 1923 she married the young Prince Albert, the second son of George V, who later become George VI.
In 1926 they celebrated the birth of their first child, Elizabeth - the present Queen. Another daughter, Margaret-Rose was born four years later.
In January 1936 King George V died. The succession passed to Albert's elder brother. But Edward VII was forced to give up his throne to his younger brother after deciding to marry an American, Wallace Simpson.
Quite unexpectedly, Elizabeth was thrust into the role of consort to the monarch, the new George VI. They were crowned in May 1937.
During World War II the King and Queen, along with the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, became the symbols of the nation's resistance.
When London was blitzed, she stayed in the capital to offer moral support.
And when peace came again the House of Windsor acquired a stability that had seemed almost unthinkable at the time of the Abdication a decade before.
She was 51 when her husband, the King, died of cancer. She soon resumed her public duties as the new Queen Mother, while her daughter became the present monarch Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen Mother's popularity continued throughout the decades. Her birthdays became something of a national ritual. A life touched by sadness
Vast numbers of people gathered in London to celebrate her 100th birthday and a postman delivered the congratulatory telegram from her daughter, signed simply ‘Lilibet’.
In February 2002, her life was touched once more by sadness when her youngest daughter Margaret died at the age of 71 after suffering a series of strokes.
Despite being weakened by illness, the Queen Mother was determined to attend her funeral and flew by helicopter from Sandringham to be at Windsor.
Although her final years were undoubtedly clouded by some of the problems of the Royal Family itself - the criticisms never centred on the Queen Mother. She was always in the forefront of public affection.
The Royal couple on their honeymoon
Queen Mother
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
1900 - 2002
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04-04-02 04-04-02 02-04-02 02-04-02 02-04-02 01-04-02 31-03-02 31-03-02 30-03-02 read on
Troops prepare royal procession
Tributes from around the world
Highland lament for Queen Mother
'My magical grandmother'
Queen Mother's final journey begins
Gun salutes for Queen Mother
Palace announces funeral details
Princes fly home to pay their respects
The Queen Mother is dead
Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Sue Kelly