Looking Back - Queen Mother Dies
On this day in 2002 Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen Mother had died in her sleep, aged 101. She passed away at 1515 GMT at the Royal Lodge, Windsor. Prince Charles, who was on holiday in Switzerland with his sons Prince William and Harry, was said to be "completely devastated." Tributes flooded in from people paying their respects and from all corners of society. Prime Minister Tony Blair led the tributes with a statement from his country retreat at Chequers. Plans for her mourning and burial - which had been in place for many years, were quickly put into action. Ten days of national mourning until the ceremonial funeral at West Minster Abbey. The Queen Mothers coffin was to rest at Windsor for three days before being taken to the Queen's Chapel at St Jame's Palace. It was to be carried in ceremonial procession to Westminster hall where, after a service, it was to lie in state until the eve of the funeral. It was to rest on the same spot where her husband King George VI lay in state in February 1952, guarded by a contingent of Gentleman at Arms and Yeomen of the Guard. The Queen Mother would then be laid to rest beside her husband in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. More than a million people lined the route of the Queen Mother's funeral cortege. And the poignant pomp and ceremony of the momentous occasion was watched around the world as the popularity of the Royal Family soared.
On this day in 2002 Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen Mother had died in her sleep, aged 101. She passed away at 1515 GMT at the Royal Lodge, Windsor. Prince Charles, who was on holiday in Switzerland with his sons Prince William and Harry, was said to be "completely devastated." Tributes flooded in from people paying their respects and from all corners of society. Prime Minister Tony Blair led the tributes with a statement from his country retreat at Chequers. Plans for her mourning and burial - which had been in place for many years, were quickly put into action. Ten days of national mourning until the ceremonial funeral at West Minster Abbey. The Queen Mothers coffin was to rest at Windsor for three days before being taken to the Queen's Chapel at St Jame's Palace. It was to be carried in ceremonial procession to Westminster hall where, after a service, it was to lie in state until the eve of the funeral. It was to rest on the same spot where her husband King George VI lay in state in February 1952, guarded by a contingent of Gentleman at Arms and Yeomen of the Guard. The Queen Mother would then be laid to rest beside her husband in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. More than a million people lined the route of the Queen Mother's funeral cortege. And the poignant pomp and ceremony of the momentous occasion was watched around the world as the popularity of the Royal Family soared.
