Queen Mother's death: 15 years on

The royal family will today be marking 15 years since the death of the Queen Mother.

Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother passed away peacefully at the age of 101 on 30 March, 2002, which at the time made her the longest surviving member of the British Royal Family.

Following The Queen Mother’s death she was taken to Westminster Hall where she lay in state for three days. During this time it is estimated over 200,000 people filed past to pay their respects. The entire time that she was in state at Westminster Hall members of the armed forces stood at the four corners of the catafalque. At one point, a major honour was bestowed as The Queen Mother’s four grandsons took the place of the guards at the four corners. This has only taken place once before after the death of King George V.

The funeral service took place on April 9 at 11:30am at Westminster Abbey and it has been estimated that around 2 million people packed the areas surrounding the abbey to pay their respects. As per Her Majesty’s wishes there was no official memorial service.

The Queen Mother’s coffin was interred alongside her husband the late King George VI within the same vault is the coffin of her daughter Princess Margaret.

Towards the end of her life, she was admired for her spirit despite her age. We take a look back at the Queen Mother's life...