TODAY we are coming to terms with a world without the Queen Mother. Few of us have known life without this remarkable public figure: from the moment Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became engaged to Albert, second son of King George V, she has been one of the world's most famous women.

The Queen Mother walked the world stage for nearly 80 years, a record no other statesman or woman can come close to matching. It says everything about her character and sense of duty that she barely put a foot wrong in all that time.

York has always enjoyed a special relationship with the Queen Mother, due to her bearing the city's name in her title. She was Duchess of York from the day she married the Duke in 1923; and would have remained so, were it not for the abdication of her husband's elder brother, Edward VIII.

Her part in bringing the royal family through this crisis and re-establishing failing public support for the monarchy cannot be overstated.

The Duke of York's natural shyness was exacerbated by a stammer which made public speaking a torment to him. When Edward gave up the throne, some believed Albert was too frail to carry the burden.

But the Queen shared the load. Her forceful personality and ease in the spotlight complemented the king's serious, thoughtful demeanour. The first commoner to become engaged to a prince of the royal blood since Richard II had become the royal family's saviour.

Two years after the 1937 coronation, war broke out. The country was hugely fortunate to possess a head of state and his queen who so embodied Britain's wartime spirit. Their tours of bomb-damaged London provided a massive morale booster to a country worn down by daily destruction. On these difficult engagements, the Queen's talent as a communicator shone through: she was able to converse as easily with an East End family bombed out of their terraced home as with a visiting president or prime minister.

Her exceptional way with people was also evident on her many visits to Yorkshire. As recalled on this page, and in our special tribute supplement published yesterday, her tours as Duchess, Queen and Queen Mother, were always very special occasions.

On her 100th birthday, a new set of bells dedicated to the Queen Mother rang out at the Minster. She had been a patron of the Friends of York Minster for seven decades.

Fittingly, tributes to the Queen Mother were led by the Archbishop of York in the Minster yesterday. This service was followed by a 41-gun salute in Museum Gardens today.

York has joined with the rest of the country in paying its respects to a woman whose dedication to public life is unlikely to be surpassed.

Updated: 10:09 Monday, April 01, 2002