I think that with the Queen Mother’s passing we have lost the last link to the Second World War. My father, who is South African, remembers her from the Royal Tour she made in 1947.

Yes, she had a life of great privilege, but she understood completely where her duties to the nation lay, and that is why she will always be remembered with such affection. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Stephen's original e-mail

He was around 19-years-old then, and studying at university. He saw her from the crowd several times, and also attended Queen Elizabeth’s 21st birthday ball as his father was an MP.

He told me that every time the Queen Mother appeared with the King, all eyes went to her. She had a striking beauty, which was helped by the fact that she wore colourful clothes, while the King had to dress in more sombre suits.

Much of Prince Charles’s speech about his grandmother reflected how I felt about my own grandmother, who died a few years ago at the age of 89.

She bore a striking physical resemblance to the Queen Mother. So much so that as a young woman she was nick-named the Duchess of York!