101 candles burning bright in tribute

Beneath the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, the last ray of sunlight beaming down, they lit 101 candles - one for each year of the Queen Mother's life. The oldest person to light a candle was 68; the youngest was 12. No matter which generation, they all wanted to pay their last respects to the Queen Mother.

None more so, perhaps, than 44-yearold Angie Dobson. Overcome by emotion she approached the verger in her electric wheelchair and asked if she could light one.

"I wanted to do it because I met the Queen Mother on numerous occasions and found her delightful," said Ms Dobson, from Islington. "She represented everything Britain stood for. I shall miss her terribly."

As the choir sang the Queen Mother's favourite hymns, the flickering candles stood in four tiers, arranged to represent different stages of her life.

Dr John Moses, Dean of St Paul's, told the 1,000-strong congregation: "The top tier represents the number of years she was a Bowes Lyon; the next her time as Duchess of York; the next her years as Queen Consort and the bottom layer represents her time as Queen Mother." Last night's 45-minute service enabled many in the capital to say their own farewell to the Queen Mother.

Prayers referred to her "unfailing" duty, and her admirers showed equal loyalty in their determination to pay their tributes.

Among them was 61-year-old Colin Edwards from North Wales, who had met the Queen Mother 70 times.

"The first was on her 84th birthday and the last when she turned 101," he said.

"I met her in Sandringham, elsewhere in Norfolk and Scotland and built up a rapport with her. When she would go walkabout on her birthday in the grounds of Clarence House, I'd be there waiting to read her a poem. It became an annual tradition."

Tourists joined the congregation, some holding single roses as their tribute. Rebecca Bueno, 36, on holiday from Brazil, said: "The world feels something very special for the Queen Mother and I wanted to be united with Londoners in their grief. The Queen Mother was loved by people all over the world."

Sara Csepregi, 19, from Hungary, added: "I am not a fan of the royals but felt I wanted to be involved in this historic event and this service enabled me to quietly take part."

The feeling among the mourners was perhaps best summed up by 12-year-old Louise Chamberlain, who laid a wreath of a bust of the Queen Mother on a plinth beside the high altar.

"I felt really lucky to be chosen to lay the flowers because the Queen Mother was brilliant - she lived through two wars and was really beautiful when she was young."

The service was arranged by the organisation, Friends of St Paul's Cathedral, which the Queen Mother had been patron of since it was created 50 years ago.