Aged 101 years old,
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday March 30th 2002 at Royal Lodge,
Windsor,
England, at 3:15pm. Her daughter, the
Queen of the
United Kingdom and her niece
Lady Margaret Rhodes was at with her at the time. Her other daughter,
Princess Margaret, died less than two months earlier aged 71.
A
Palace spokesman said, "Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother had become increasingly
frail in recent weeks following her bad
cough and
chest infection over
Christmas."
The Queen Mother, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, was daughter of a
Scottish Earl. Born August the 4th 1900, she married
Prince Albert who was the second son of
King George V and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.
The duke's elder brother succeeded to the throne in 1936 as
King Edward VIII, but by the middle of
December had
abdicated to marry an
American divorcee called
Wallis Simpson. Simpson was the only person the Queen Mother was viewed to dislike. She later called Wallis Simpson the "lowest of the low" when it was rumoured that Edward and Simpson were talking to the
Nazis in 1940 about themselves returning as
monarchs.
Prince Albert reluctantly took the throne in 1936, changing his name to
King George VI.
The Queen Mother stayed in England during
World War II at the side of her husband King George VI instead of fleeing to
Canada as suggested to her, earning the
respect of the
UK citizens.
She stated that, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the
King. And the King will never leave."
After her husband's death in 1952, she continued with her royal duties which she continued until she was in her 90's. When she reached her 90's, she made fewer public appearances as she suffered from
arthritis which led to a
hip replacement at the age of 95, in November 1995. She walked out of
hospital unaided 18 days later. However she did break her hip in January 1997 whilst watching
horses and had an emergency
hip replacement operation.
The Queen Mother, also famous for her love of
horse racing, was also the only royal to stay friends with
Princess Diana after her divorce from
Prince Charles. She was a popular and dedicated
Royal and will be sadly missed by many.
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. August 4th 1900 - March 30th 2002.
Sources
Associated Press 30/3/2002
New York Post 31/3/2002