Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born on 4th August 1900, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. On the death of her husband she became Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

Marriage

She married HRH Prince Albert, Duke of York (son of George V and Queen Mary), in Westminster Abbey on 26 April 1923. He later succeeded as King George VI when his brother Edward VIII abdicated. They had two children, Elizabeth, who succeeded to the throne in 1952, and Margaret Rose.

Coronation

Their coronation took place in the Abbey on 12th May 1937.

Funeral

She died on 30th March 2002. Massive crowds watched the coffin procession through the streets from St James's Palace to Westminster Hall, where she lay in state for four days. Together with Queen Elizabeth II's wreath her crown, containing the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, lay on a purple velvet cushion on top of the coffin which was draped with her personal standard [flag]. On 9th April the coffin was conveyed on a gun carriage to the Abbey. The Abbey's tenor bell chimed 101 times, one for each year of her life. After the service the coffin was taken by car to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle where she was buried alongside George VI and their daughter HRH Princess Margaret.