A THANKSGIVING service for the life of the Queen Mother is to be held at York Minster later this month.

The Duke of York is to attend the service, on Thursday, April 18.

The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Raymond Furnell, will conduct the service, with the address to be given by the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope. A Minster spokesman said the time of the service had not yet been decided, although it was likely to be 3pm. Members of the public will be able to attend on a ticket-only basis. Details of how to apply for a ticket will be published later.

The Duke this afternoon paid his respects at the Queen Mother's coffin, now resting in the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace, before inspecting flowers which had been laid outside Clarence House. MPs returned to Westminster to pay tribute to the "love of life, warmth and devotion to duty" of the Queen Mother.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, wearing in a black tie, told the recalled House of Commons: "Her spirit and the British spirit became inseparably intertwined.The respect she received, the outpouring of affection accorded her death, is not the result simply or even principally of her long life."

Updated: 15:12 Wednesday, April 03, 2002