Papers mark the Queen's loss

'You're not alone Ma'am' is the Mirror's message to the Queen, beside a photograph of her being driven back to Windsor last night, after a church service in memory of the Queen Mother.

She has lost her sister and her mother in just seven weeks, the paper reminds its readers.

It is now up to the people of Britain to show her what she means to us by making the Jubilee a celebration that will never be forgotten, it adds.

Similar photographs appear on the front of the Daily Mail and the Daily Star, which observes: "Her eyes red from crying and her face racked with sorrow, the Queen mirrors the nation's grief."

'Absolutely buoyant'

To balance the sadness, many papers print images of happier times.

The Daily Express presents what it says are photographs from the Queen Mother's final formal sitting for the camera in November, in preparation for a bronze bust.

The sculptress, Vivien Mallock, tells the paper that even though she had seemed frail, the Queen Mother had been terribly sparky - and absolutely buoyant.

Writing in the Sun, the Royal photographer Arthur Edwards agrees that the Queen Mother was easy to photograph, saying that in almost 30 years, he never saw her in a bad mood.

"She made everyone feel wonderful," he says - and recalls how, when she saw a face she recognised from a previous engagement, she would throw her arms in the air, flash a big smile, and say: "How lovely to see you again."

'Luxury and idleness'

Several papers publish special supplements.

The Times includes tributes and a four-page obituary.

The Daily Telegraph prints dozens of photographs of the Queen Mother, dating back to a childhood it describes as bursting with vitality, and includes a detailed chronology of her life.

One columnist - Christopher Hitchens, in the Guardian - adopts a very different tone.

He argues that the hereditary concept produced a woman who symbolised and endorsed luxury and idleness.

Israeli 'genocide'

The continuing crisis in the Middle East is one of the few other stories to receive significant coverage.

On its front page, the Independent points out that since the start of Passover, five days ago, there have been five Palestinian suicide bombings, in which more than 40 Israelis have died, and more than 100 have been wounded.

On the following page, listing international criticism of Israel's response, it quotes the speaker of the Greek parliament as accusing Israel of committing genocide.

Kill Arafat?

In an editorial, the paper says that perhaps the biggest fault of the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon - whom it describes as a brutal former general - is his weakness.

It says that if he wanted to, he could kill Yasser Arafat, root out the suicide bombers or reoccupy the entire West Bank.

The paper acknowledges Mr Sharon's implicit admission that such action would be futile, and counter-productive.

But this admission leaves the paper wondering - if all Israel does is humiliate Mr Arafat, so that he loses the respect of his own people - how can he be expected to restrain them?

Real strength - it concludes - requires a largeness of spirit and an understanding of the enemy.