SPANNING almost 102 years, the matriarch of the House of Windsor and dearly loved grandmother of our nation has died peacefully in her sleep at 3.15pm on March 30, 2002.

Although the perception of royalty is no longer one of subservient subjects towards a blessed deity, the Queen Mother, indestructible and indomitable in spirit, retained throughout her long life that magic gift of the common touch.

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born in London on Saturday August 4, 1900, the youngest and ninth child of Lord and Lady Glamis.

The young Duke of York, who was incredibly shy and afflicted with a terrible stammer, fell in love with Elizabeth who accepted his third proposal.

Elizabeth brought a breath of fresh air into the stuffy royal family. She invented the royal walkabout and the Yorks were extremely popular in their travels abroad. Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret completed the family. The York's idyllic life seemed untroubled and their future assured in the serene life that together they had created.

But in 1936 after King George V died, David, the next in line, abdicated the throne so that he could marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The country was in crisis.

Edward's reign ended on Friday December 11. Sir Maurice Hankey, clerk of the Privy Council, rang the Yorks from the House of Lords to say: "Will you tell His Majesty that he has just been proclaimed King". Bertie looked at his family: "Now if someone comes through on the telephone who shall I say I am?"

By September 1939 our country was at war with Germany. The new King and Queen rose to the challenge to help raise spirits as bombs rained down night after night. Buckingham Palace was not spared, causing the Queen to remark: "Now I can look the East End in the face!"

By February 6 1952, King George was dead. Queen Elizabeth had lost her beloved Bertie. Her sense of duty prevailed and she re-invented herself as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother now that her daughter Elizabeth was Queen.

For the next 50 years of her remarkable life the Queen Mum became an anchor as royal marriages floundered.

She was a central figure in our history throughout the 20th century, a unique symbol of dignity, tenacity, humanity and great courage in adversity, a traditionalist of standards and values that have long been ignored and/or dismissed. She suffered the grief and the pain of outliving her younger daughter. A unique tapestry of life has been completed.

Mary Ratcliffe

Old Town, Swindon