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.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS