“What a day,” said the Queen Mother as she glimpsed the more than 7,000 people who queued overnight to help celebrate her 101st birthday. “What a lovely present.”
Smiling in a pale blue dress and turquoise hat, with diamonds dangling from her ears, the Queen Mum greeted those gathered from her signature buggy, stopping to shake hands and accept gifts from well-wishers of all ages.
“She was just like an ordinary granny,” said one six-year-old on the scene. “Not even very old,” added another child.
The Queen Mother seemed rejuvenated following an eight-hour blood transfusion for anaemia she had received just a few short days before, and stood for a full thirteen minutes in the sun. “I am feeling much better,” she said, passing a seemingly endless stream of bouquets on to her lady-in-waiting. And, despite getting on in years, the ageing royal maintains a keen memory for details, as Colin Edwards from Macclesfield can attest.
For the past 17 years Colin has penned a birthday poem for the Queen Mum, but as he approached the monarch to present his latest work, he was briefly detained by Clarence House guards. Luckily, the Queen Mother recognized him and smartly interjected. “But I want him to read it,” she said. “It is very important that he does.”
After taking a lap around her home in the buggy she disappeared briefly, only to emerge to rapturous applause alongside Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry and an ailing Princess Margaret. The Queen’s sister aroused fears over her health as she appeared bloated and frail in a wheelchair outside Clarence House.
“Princess Margaret is not in good shape,” said one senior official. “The strokes have taken their toll and we are conscious that she does not look well. But she is going to Balmoral this week, which she wouldn’t do if doctors considered her condition to be life-threatening.”
A 41-gun salute was fired in honour of the Queen Mother before she and her family retreated into her home for a celebratory lunch. The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Princess Anne, Commodore Timothy Laurence, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips were all on hand for the festivities.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
