Cardinal pays tribute to Queen Mother

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor lead Roman Catholics in the UK to pay tribute to the Queen Mother who died this afternoon, aged 101. He said: "The whole nation and beyond will mourn a great and gracious lady. "The Queen Mother bore the virtues so beloved by the British people of courage and steadfastness, and especially through the Second World War in the role of Queen Consort. She will be greatly missed." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, leader of the Church of England, said: "We are all the poorer because this gracious lady has been taken from us. "Her unfailing dignity, devotion to duty and charm have been a precious part of our national life for as long as most of us can remember. "She was deeply loved by people of all ages; whilst older people will remember best the courage which she and King George VI showed during the war, every generation has taken her to their hearts. "She had a deep and sustaining faith and lived her life in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, a resurrection which we celebrate at this Eastertide." Catholic peer, Lord St John of Fawsley, a close friend of the Queen Mother for many years, said she had brought encouragement to the nation. "She carried the traditional values of the nation - courage, determination, dedication, a profound sense of duty and a love of family and friends," he said. "We have lost our most treasured national person. She was not merely an historical figure. She was history... "At our darkest hour of all time in 1940 she helped to turn it into our finest."