Britain's Queen Mother, who witnessed abdication, world war and family breakup in a century of royal tumult, died on Saturday aged 101 with her devoted daughter Queen Elizabeth at her bedside.
Symbol of a bygone era and bridge to Britain's victorious wartime past, the "Queen Mum" died in her sleep at 3:15pm, robbing Britain of its favorite royal.
The peaceful end to a life that began when horses plied the streets came on Easter Saturday, as her younger relatives played on the beaches of Barbados and ski slopes of Switzerland.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"She believed that the royal family's role and duty was to serve the British nation and she carried out that duty with total and selfless devotion," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. "Her bravery ... during the Blitz epitomized both her own indomitable spirit and the spirit of the nation in its darkest hours."
Admirers of the Queen Mother lined up early Easter Sunday to sign books of condolence while the grieving royal family gathered at Windsor.
Churchgoers around the country prayed for the Queen Mother and flags flew at half-staff from Buckingham Palace to the Murrayfield rugby stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, 80km south of the Queen Mother's ancestral home.
Books of condolence were opened yesterday at St James's Palace, London, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, and at Sandringham House, the queen's estate in eastern England.
At Buckingham Palace a trickle of tourists read the solemn news on a simple notice pinned to the gates.
Widow of King George VI and staunchest of allies to the 75-year-old queen, the Queen Mother was considered the glue behind two thrones in a period of massive upheaval.
Her death comes weeks after that of her younger daughter, 71-year-old Princess Margaret, and as her first-born struggles to ignite enthusiasm for celebrations marking 50 years on the throne.
True to form, there was no final crisis -- just a quiet end to a woman of steel with a world-famous smile.
"The Queen Mother had become increasingly frail in recent weeks, following a bad cough and chest infection over Christmas," said a palace spokesman. "Her condition deteriorated this morning and her doctors were called."
He said the Queen Mother's coffin would be moved to the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park yesterday. The funeral will take place on April 8 at Windsor.
Her grandchildren were said to be distraught, yet it is older Britons who will most keenly feel the loss of this tiny figure, branded Europe's most dangerous woman by Adolf Hitler for her morale-boosting role in World War II.
When she defied German bombers and stayed in London during the Blitz, a once remote royal family was shown to have a common touch which helped her retain a devoted following to the end.
"We have really lost our most treasured national human being. The Queen Mother was not only a historical figure, she was history," said Lord St John of Fawsley, a close friend.
Her favorite grandchild, heir to the throne Prince Charles, was said to be deeply saddened.
"He is absolutely devastated," said Clair Southwell, part of Charles's entourage in the Swiss ski resort of Klosters.
Charles and his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were returning home from Switzerland yesterday.
From the White House to the Kremlin, world leaders paid tribute yesterday to the strong figurehead and great wartime ally.
US President George W. Bush expressed deep sadness.
"She was a pillar of strength and inspiration to many people all over the world," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Queen Mother's symbolic role in boosting British morale in the fight against Nazi Germany -- with Adolf Hitler reportedly calling her Europe's most dangerous woman for sticking by Londoners under bombing.
And in France, where King Louis XVI met a grisly end at the guillotine during the revolution, President Jacques Chirac hailed her as a British icon.
"The kindness of her smile made her one of the most engaging figures of our time," he said.
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