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The public funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother occurred on Tuesday, 9 April 2002 in Westminster Abbey in London, following her death on 30 March 2002 at the age of 101. ==Background== The Queen Mother had been suffering from a persistent cold which she caught during Christmas 2001, being bedridden at Sandringham after making her final public engagement on 22 November 2001, when she attended the recommissioning of HMS Ark Royal. However, despite missing many other scheduled events—such as the 100th birthday celebrations of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, on 12 December 2001; the annual luncheon of the Women's Institutes, of which she was President, on 23 January 2002, and traditional church services at Sandringham—she was determined to attend the funeral of her younger daughter Princess Margaret, who had died on 9 February 2002. Despite slipping in her sitting room on 13 February 2002 at Sandringham (and raising considerable concern amongst her daughter, the Queen, and the rest of the royal family), she travelled to Windsor by helicopter the following day. She attended the funeral on 15 February in a people carrier with blacked–out windows,(which had recently been used by Margaret)〔Vickers, p. 497〕 and wished to be, and was, shielded from the press so that no photographs of her in a wheelchair could be taken. Following this, the Queen Mother returned to Royal Lodge, and on 5 March 2002, she was present at the luncheon of the annual lawn party of the Eton Beagles, and watched the Cheltenham Races on television; however, her health began to deteriorate precipitously during her last weeks after retreating to the Lodge for the final time.〔Vickers, pp. 498–499〕 She weakened further throughout March 2002, dying on 30 March (Easter Saturday) with her surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, at her bedside. The Queen Mother's body lay at the altar of the Royal Chapel of All Saints near Royal Lodge before being taken to London for her lying in state and funeral. The published order of service included as a preface the verse beginning "You can shed tears that she is gone", selected by the Queen and attributed to an anonymous writer. The verse became widely popular after the funeral and was later revealed to have been based on a poem written some 20 years earlier by David Harkins, an aspiring artist from Carlisle.〔("'Mysterious origin' of funeral poem", ''BBC News'', 11 April 2002 ). Retrieved 8 June 2015〕〔( Matt Seaton, "The accidental laureate", ''The Guardian'', 16 September 2002 ). Retrieved 8 June 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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