by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013
March 30, 2002 – Death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, wife of George VI, mother of Elizabeth II, at Royal Lodge, Windsor; buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
On Saturday, March 30, 2002, at 3:15 pm, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep, at her home, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, at the age of 101. Her daughter Queen Elizabeth II and two of her grandchildren, the children of Princess Margaret, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and his sister Lady Sarah Chatto, were with her.
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born on August 4, 1900, in London. She was the fourth daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (who succeeded his father as 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904), a descendant of King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart king, and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, a descendant of the Marquess Wellesley (brother of the Duke of Wellington) and the Kings of Ireland. Elizabeth bore the courtesy title of “Honorable” until her father became Earl when she exchanged it for “Lady.”
Lady Elizabeth married the second son of King George V, Prince Albert, Duke of York, on April 26, 1923, at Westminster Abbey, London. See Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon for detailed information on the wedding.
The couple had two children, Elizabeth (born 1926) who succeeded her father as Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret, who died shortly before her mother (1930-2002). Upon the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, the Duke of York acceded to the throne as King George VI. During the difficult years of World War II, King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth continually boosted the morale of the British people. In 1952, King George VI died of lung cancer at the age of 56 and Queen Elizabeth changed her style to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother to avoid confusion with her daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother lay in state in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster. At one point, her four grandsons Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Viscount Linley exchanged places with the guards as a mark of respect to their grandmother. (See photo above.) The funeral was held on April 9, 2002, at Westminster Abbey. The Queen Mother was laid to rest with her husband and the ashes of her younger daughter Princess Margaret in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. On September 19, 2022, her elder daughter Queen Elizabeth II was interred in the crypt of the King George VI Memorial Chapel. At the same time, the coffin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021, was moved from its temporary place in the Royal Vault beneath St. George’s Chapel and also interred in the crypt of the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
King George VI Memorial Chapel; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page
- Unofficial Royalty: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
- Telegraph: Obituary – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
- YouTube: Queen Mother’s Funeral – “The Princes’ Vigil”
- YouTube: BBC Coverage of the Queen Mother’s Funeral Part
(There are 16 parts. As you watch each part, a link to the next part should appear on the top right side of the screen.)
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