World leaders pay tribute to 'Queen Mum'

2.30pm

LONDON - Tributes have poured in after the death of the Queen Mother as world leaders paid homage to a woman who embodied the "best of British".

US President George W. Bush said he was "deeply saddened" by her death and politicians, churchmen and royals paid their respects to a woman whose influence touched people across the globe.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said the Queen Mother would be "deeply missed" throughout the group of 54 mainly former British colonies, which her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, nominally heads.

"She was an exceptional person who devoted her life to her family, her nation and the Commonwealth," he said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Governor-General Peter Hollingworth sent the nation's condolences to Britain's royal family after the Queen Mother's death.

"The Queen Mother's remarkable life, spanning the entire period of Australia as a federation, was one dedicated to service, duty, support and her family," the prime minister said in a statement.

"She and the late King had a special link with Australia having attended the opening of our first Parliament House in our national capital Canberra in 1927," Howard added.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said: "Today, all Canadians join me in expressing sorrow that a symbol to the world of abiding grace, dignity and personal courage has been taken from us," he said.

"Above all, she will be remembered for her matchless and galvanising devotion to duty during the darkest hours of World War Two, when Britain, Canada and the Commonwealth stood alone against a seemingly invincible tyranny."

Fellow royals weighed in from Belgium to Spain, sending condolences to London by telegram and telephone.

"There are very close ties between the two families," said a spokesman for King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Archbishop George Carey, spiritual leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans, said older generations would remember the courage she and her husband King George VI showed during the war, but that every generation had taken her to their hearts.

"We are all the poorer because this gracious lady has been taken from us...Her unfailing dignity, devotion to duty and charm have been a precious part of our national life for as long as most of us can remember," said Carey.

Former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher said the Queen Mother was a wonderful Queen and an extraordinary person.

"She was an inspiration during the dark days of war and she never failed to lift our spirits by her sense of duty."

Lord St John of Fawsley, a close friend of the Queen Mother for many years, said it was a "terrible day of loss".

"We have really lost our most treasured national human being. The Queen Mother was not only a historical figure, she was history," he said.

"At our darkest hour in 1940 she helped with the king to turn it into our finest and she strengthened the will of the nation."

He said people should remember the Queen Mother was not a solemn figure, but someone with "a sparkling personality with a joyful sense of fun. She inspired and delighted people."

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, said people of all faiths would mark her death. "The whole nation and beyond will mourn a great and gracious lady."

"The Queen Mother bore the virtues so beloved by the British people: courage and steadfastness especially throughout the Second World War," he said.

Iain Duncan Smith, leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, said the Queen Mother was adored throughout the country. "We will all miss her enormously because she was the best of us all," he said.

- REUTERS

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