LIFE AS QUEEN MOTHER, 1952-2002
After the death of her husband, King George VI, The Queen Mother moved from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House.
For the next 50 years she continued her public duties, supporting charities and organisations, attending ceremonies and undertaking Royal visits throughout the UK and overseas.
Her Majesty was Patron or President of some 350 organisations. She was Commandant-in-Chief of the Army and Air Force Women's Services, and for Women in the Royal Navy.
For many years she was President of the British Red Cross Society, and she was Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade. She was also Colonel-in-Chief or Honorary Colonel of many UK and overseas regiments, and Commandant-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Central Flying School.
The Queen Mother accepted honorary degrees from many universities, and was Chancellor of the University of London for 25 years until 1980, and the first Chancellor of Dundee University. In 1978 she was appointed Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle.
Until late in life, The Queen Mother continued to travel, making over 40 official visits abroad, including a 1989 visit to Canada which marked the 50th anniversary of her first visit there.
The Queen Mother continued to pursue her love of the countryside and sport; she was a keen and expert fisherwoman and enjoyed horse racing, being a leading owner of steeplechasers. She also spent time each summer at the Castle of Mey, an historic property in the far north-east of Scotland which she purchased in 1953.
In 2000 The Queen Mother attended a number of official engagements marking her 100th birthday. These included a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral on 11 July and then a birthday pageant on Horse Guards Parade on 19 July.
On her 100th birthday, Her Majesty received, like other centenarians, a message of congratulations from her daughter, The Queen.
The Queen Mother died in her sleep on 30 March 2002, following a short illness and the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, a few weeks earlier.
