Editorials

LONDON — The Queen Mother Elizabeth, a symbol of courage and dignity during a tumultuous century of war, social upheaval and royal scandal, died in her sleep Saturday died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, outside London. She was 101 years old. 

She was best known to younger generations as the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and grandmother of Prince Charles. But those who were young when German bombs rained down on London in 1940 remembered her as the queen who endured the blitz with them and visited their shattered homes. The queen mother might have been expected to retire from public life when her husband, King George VI, died in 1952. 

But after their eldest daughter’s succession to the throne, she took a new title, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and a full load of royal duties. She carried them into her 90s, and delighted in meeting people from all walks of life.