'A very special person'

Ambrosine Nielsen also turned 100 on Friday

Affection for the Queen Mother has prompted birthday celebrations and tributes from politicians and fellow British centenarians.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair led the accolades, paying tribute to the sense of duty displayed by the Royal matriarch throughout her long life.

She likes sharing her birthday with me too, you know

Centenarian Priscilla Croasdale

The 11 other people turning 100 in the UK on Friday expressed their delight in sharing their birthday with the Queen Mother.

"We are not just honouring the birthday of a very special person in terms of royalty," said Tony Blair.

"We are also honouring someone who has been a great example to us all."

Irish President Mary McAleese said the Queen Mother had lived through a turbulent century which had witnessed some of the most terrible moments in the history of mankind, as well as some of its greatest achievements.

"Happily, too, over those years you have seen the development of better relations between the British and Irish people," she said.

Special Royal card

The Queen Mother received a special 100th birthday card from her daughter, the Queen.

So did 11 other people throughout the UK.

Among the other lucky centenarians was Ambrosine Nielsen, from South Tyneside.

She left school at 14 to work in a shop, has three surviving daughters, 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Up until the age of 98, she travelled by bus and Metro to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to play bingo twice a week, and has been a smoker since leaving school.

The Queen Mother receives a card from the Queen

Her 60-year-old daughter, Astrid Maddison, said: "She is a great fan of the Queen Mother, and has been looking forward to this day since her 80th birthday."

Priscilla Croasdale from Bingham, near Nottingham, was also to receive a 100th birthday card.

Asked if she enjoyed being exactly the same age as the Queen Mother, Mrs Croasdale said: "She likes sharing her birthday with me too, you know."

"I think of the national anthem as my tune."

Gladys Stickland has been celebrating her 100th birthday in Wiltshire.

She is a great-great-grandmother, and sent the Queen Mother a message of her own from her home in Lockeridge, near Marlborough.

Speaking on behalf of Mrs Stickland, her son-in-law, Bryan Watts, said: "I think she feels a bit more special because it is a day everyone knows about and she is sharing it with the Queen Mother."