Well Craig, you can now say goodbye to the British Empire.
The world today mourns the passing of a great queen, the most loved and remarkable member of the royal family, and the final vestige of an imperial era.
The death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, aged 101, has been greeted with an outpouring of grief, warmth and respect for a woman who epitomised royalty and inspired a nation and its allies, especially during World War II.
Hundreds of people gathered outside Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, where some pushed daffodils through the bars of the gates as a lone piper played nearby. One tribute on a card said: "Our nation has lost its grandmother today."
The official notices posted outside the royal residences said simply that the Queen's "beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth, died peacefully in her sleep this afternoon at Royal Lodge, Windsor. Members of the royal family have been informed".
Lord St John of Fawlsey, a close friend, said: "With the passing of the Queen Mother we have lost our most treasured national person. She was not merely an historical figure. She was history."
The Queen Mother was witness to the greatest century of change. Born just months before Australian federation, she maintained close ties with the Commonwealth. In 1927, she and her husband, King George VI, went to Canberra to open the new parliament buildings.
Either the Prime Minister, John Howard, or the Governor-General, Peter Hollingworth, is likely to attend the funeral, but no decision had been finalised, Canberra sources said. Mr Howard said the Queen Mother would be greatly missed for her stoicism and "old fashioned values".
The Queen Mother saw many public and personal tragedies, but never lost her zest for life. Her indulgences included a deep love of horse racing and the occasional gin and Dubonnet.
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, described her as "part of the fabric of our nation" and symbol of "decency and courage".
The royal family gathered at Windsor Castle to begin the nine-day mourning period, which will end with a funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial next to her husband at Windsor.
Prince Charles, who was "completely devastated" by the death of his grandmother, returned from his Switzerland holiday with his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
The royal biographer Graham Turner told the Herald that the heir to the throne would be lost without the Queen Mother as "she was the only one he talked to".
While Buckingham Palace has not announced final details, the body is expected to lie in state at Westminster for either three or four days to allow members of the public to pay their respects.
Easter Sunday services across the world were marked by special prayers for the Queen Mother and the royal family, especially the Queen, who was at her bedside when she died at 3.15pm on Saturday (London time) at Windsor.
Books of condolences were opened for the public to sign at St James's Palace, London, and Holyrood House, Edinburgh.
Mourners at Buckingham Palace described the death as a turning point in the royal family and its relationship with the British public.
"In a nutshell, she's the last of the clan," said David Hodge, a musician and former member of the Black Watch regiment, which the Queen Mother headed.
Born of Scottish nobility as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother is widely credited with saving the monarchy after the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII.
Along with the new king, she was the first to engage with the public, undergoing royal tours and walkabouts and becoming patron to hundreds of charities.
In 1940, the king and queen refused to leave London during the Blitz. Famously, she said: "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."
The Queen Mother had been ill for several weeks, reportedly with a chest infection, but had recovered sufficiently to attend the funeral of her daughter Princess Margaret seven weeks ago, one of her last public appearances.
The palace said she died with the Queen and several close friends at her side, including her niece Lady Margaret Rhodes, who told the BBC she "will be greatly missed by everybody; she was a wonderful, wonderful person".
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