Guest Author - Karyn Johnson

The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II's mother, was well-loved and respected all over the world, since she was largely responsible for bringing England's monarchy closer to the people. She lived to the ripe old age of 101, but what do people really know about her life? Here is a look at the incredible life of the Queen Mum.

She was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on August 4, 1900, the daughter of an earl. She was the ninth of ten children, and spent her childhood at Glamis Castle in Scotland. She was home-schooled until the breakout of WWI, when Glamis Castle was converted into a military hospital and she helped out the wounded troops. This experience is perhaps what kept her in touch with the common people.

She met her future husband, then Prince Albert, at the age of five during a birthday party. They met again as adults when Elizabeth was twenty, and after he proposed to her three times, she finally accepted. They wed at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 1923. The marriage was unique, because they actually married for love, instead of a match being made among royal families. This also endeared Elizabeth to the people.

In 1936, the current king, Edward VIII, gave up the throne to be with his love, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Suddenly, Elizabeth's husband was thrust onto the throne amidst scandal and a tarnished reputation for the monarchy. Elizabeth was queen. She took care to convert her shy, reticent husband into a king. He had a stutter, but she hired a voice coach. And Elizabeth took the lead at social functions. She was almost single-handedly responsible for restoring the integrity of the British throne.

One of the reasons she gained so much respect was because of her courage and tenacity during the Nazi blitz. Part of Buckingham Palace was bombed in 1940, and she felt that she could relate to the suffering felt by her people. She was asked to flee to North America with daughters Elizabeth and Margaret, but steadfastly refused to leave. The royal standard thus flew above Buckingham Palace as the bombing raids wore on, and Elizabeth learned how to shoot a pistol. She traveled to parts of England that were devastated by the war, keeping up the morale of both the troops and civilians.

Her husband, King George VI, died seven years after the war's end, in 1952. His daughter Elizabeth was poised to take the throne, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Consort, had to take on a new role - Queen Mother.

The "Queen Mum," as she came to be known, was still very much a public presence until her death at age 101 in March 2002. During her funeral in April 2002, more than a million people lined the streets along the funeral route. There was a two minute moment of silence, where it seemed that all of England stopped to reflect on her life. The Queen Mum has been gone for awhile now, but the memory of her smile and her friendliness to the people, will never be forgotten.