Church leaders remember Queen Mother

The Queen Mother: A person of "religious conviction"

Religious figures from different churches, orders and faiths have paid their tributes to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, of the London-based Jewish Information Centre, said the Jewish community deeply mourned the Queen Mother's passing.

Reverend Mark Santer: "She was a woman of dedication"

He said: "Jews living in the East End of London during the war years will never forget her famous remark that she was glad Buckingham Palace was attacked so she 'could look the East End in the face' then, typical of her lifelong empathy with ordinary people."

The Right Reverend Mark Santer, Bishop of Birmingham, said the Queen Mother was a "landmark in the life of the nation".

"She was a woman of vitality, dedication and Christian faith. She showed us what it meant to receive life as a gift from God and how to enjoy it at every step of life's journey."

Her prominent role in public life for 65 years meant that she was imprinted into the lives of millions of people

Right Reverend John Miller

Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim parliament, expressed his sadness over the death of the Queen Mother.

He said: "She represented a certain set of traditional values. She was a symbol of courage during the war that inspired a great many people.

"It was this respect that she carried throughout her life."

The Bishop of St Albans, the Right Reverend Christopher Herbert, said: "In the county and the diocese she was held in the highest regard.

"Our country has been enriched by her high sense of duty, her compassion, her wit, and by her combination of elegance and attentiveness to others which made her so special to so many.

'Prominent role'

"Our thoughts are very much with Her Majesty the Queen and with all the Royal Family at this time."

The Right Reverend John Miller, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said her death brought sorrow to "generations of Scots".

"Her great age itself meant that, born in the Victoria era, she saw unprecedented changes.

"But her prominent role in public life for 65 years meant that she was imprinted into the lives of millions of people.

"She was a person of faith, who was glad of the disciplines of prayer and public worship."

The Reverend Anthony Burnham, Moderator of the Free Churches Council, said: "Churches will be saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

"On Easter Sunday, congregations celebrating God's gift of life after death will also thank God for all that was good in the Queen Mother's earthly life; her lively humour, her love of her family and particularly the values to which she held of duty and service to the whole nation and Commonwealth."