The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep today with the Queen at her bedside.She passed away at 3.15pm at Royal Lodge, her Windsor residence, Buckingham Palace announced . Her death came six weeks after her last public appearance when she attended the funeral of her daughter Princess Margaret.
She had outlived her husband King GeorgeVI by 50 years and had become a much-loved national institution. Weakened by a recent bad cough and chest infection, the Queen Mother's condition deteriorated this morning and her doctors were called. Buckingham Palace said:
"The Queen, with the greatest sadness, has asked for the following announcement to be made immediately: her beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth, died peacefully in her sleep this afternoon at Royal Lodge, Windsor."
The palace spokesman continued: "Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother had become increasingly frail in recent weeks following her bad cough and chest infection over Christmas." 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. "The Queen was at her mother's bedside."
The Queen Mother's coffin is expected to be taken to the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park tomorrow morning.
Before the funeral - details of which will be finalised tomorrow - the nation will be able to pay homage to her when she lies in state in the medieval setting of Westminster Hall.
The Prince of Wales was told of the death of his beloved grandmother while skiing in the Swiss resort of Klosters.
The prince and his sons William and Harry were "completely devastated". Charles was the first to be told after returning from the slopes at Klosters to hishotel at 4.30pm. When William and Harry returned they were told by their father, whoushered them into his bedroom at the Walserhof.
Charles and his sons will fly back to Britaintomorrow, when royal advisers will meet to finalise details of the Westminster Abbey service. Tony Blair tonight led the tributes to the Queen Mother, saying she had been a symbol of Britain's "decency and courage".
The Prime Minister said that the entire nation would join with the Queen and the Royal Family in mourning her death. Mr Blair continued:
"She was part of the fabric of our nation and we were immensely proud of her." Along with her husband, King George VI, she was also a symbol of our country's decency and courage." Her bravery when she refused point blank to leave London and her husband's side during the Blitz epitomised both her own indomitable spirit and the spirit of the nation in its darkest hours.
"Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith described the Queen Mother as a"truly remarkable lady". He expressed his sympathy to the Queen and the Royal Family.
"Their grief is shared by millions - not just here - but throughout the world," he said.Within minutes of the announcement of the Queen Mother's death today, tributes began pouring in.Lord St John of Fawsley, a close friend of the Queen Mother for many years, said:"With the passing of the Queen Mother we have lost our most treasured national person. She was not merely an historical figure. She was history.
"Ordinary people also paid tribute with crowds gathering outside various royal residences.At Buckingham Palace, a notice on the gate announced the news.
At Windsor Castle, scores of people gathered to pay their respects.As darkness fell, people outside her official London residence Clarence House recalled the Queen Mother's resilience during the war.Floris Margaret Astley, 57, of Camden, north London, said: "When Buckingham Palace got bombed during the war, the Queen Mother said 'good - at least I can look the East End in the eye'."People in London have never forgotten that. From that moment on she has been one of their own."Patricia Mumford, 49, of Bolton, who was in London with her son Simon, 15, for an Easter break, said:
"I heard the news on television in my hotel room and decided to come down here to pay my respects." Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon in London on August 4 1900, was to etch her name on the hearts of the nation as the longest-lived and well-loved Royal.
The fourth daughter and ninth child of Lord and Lady Glamis, she met her future husband at a dance in May 1920.
They married at Westminster Abbey in April 1923, and had two children - Elizabeth, now the Queen, and Princess Margaret.When her husband was crowned King George VI on December 12 1936, after the abdication crisis of King Edward VIII, she became the first British-born Queen Consort since Tudor times. Widowed on February 6 1952, she chose tobe called Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when her elder daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen Mother spent three months in mourning, after which she embarked on a life of public duty, characterised by a graceand energy that made her a favourite with the British public.
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