Queen Mother's sculpture unveiled

The Queen Mother said the sculpture was "very good"

The Queen Mother has attended the formal unveiling of a new bronze bust commissioned in her honour.

It was unveiled by her granddaughter, the Princess Royal, at St Paul's Cathedral where it will remain on permanent display.

A service to mark the Queen Mother's 100th birthday will be held at St Paul's next month.

Princess Anne, dressed in a yellow skirt suit and lemon hat with a black bag and gloves, told a packed audience the ceremony was a chance to repay her grandmother for all the times she had spoilt her grandchildren in the past.

Repaying debt

She said: "It is very nice to have the opportunity to do something however small to repay her for so much. It is very difficult to know how to do that for one's own grandmother. This occasion celebrates a very important year in her life. I sincerely hope she will be here again and again to these services here with you."

The Queen Mother was led up to look at the sculpture by the Dean of the Cathedral, Dr John Moses, and she chatted to sculptor Martin Jennings telling him: "It's very good."

She was then presented with a posy of flowers by Neil Anderson, the youngest member of St Paul's Cathedral School at just seven-years-old.

He said afterwards: "She told me it was very kind of me. I was very nervous but she was really nice."

Afterwards the Queen Mother and Princess Anne listened to a 15-minute recital by the choristers of St Paul's.