World

Queen Mum Turns 99

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 3, 1999 / 5:02 PM EDT / CBS

Welsh guards sang “Happy Birthday” to Britain's beloved Queen Mum Wednesday as celebrations complete with a 41-gun salute commenced for the matriarch, who may be the most enduringly popular member of Britain’s royal family.

She's part of the memory of every living Briton and a mirror of the century, reports CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth. Her reputation was sealed in World War Two, while her husband George VI was on the throne. During the worst of the Nazi blitz, she boosted British morale by staying in London. Adolf Hitler called her the most dangerous woman in Europe because she was so effective at boosting public morale. She even learned to fire a revolver.

A cannon is prepared for firing as part of a 41-gun salute.

With her husband's death and her daughter's coronation, she became Britain’s queen mother -- called the "queen mum." After forty-seven years in official retirement, she's as popular as ever -- with an indulgent smile that's said to mask an iron will, and a penchant for enjoying herself.

She has a passion for horse racing, a fondness for gin and a reputation as a lavish spender: none of it has tarnished her image. Her hobby, she once said, is "liking people."

She's a reminder in modern times, said a former government official, that there's more to British life than sex and shopping and soccer; a royal example of a regal ideal, called duty.

After greeting thousands of well-wishers outside of her London residence and watching a 41-gun salute in her honor, the Queen Mum was presiding over a lunch for the family. Her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, was to come over from nearby Buckingham Palace.

The British Broadcasting Corp. played the national anthem on news bulletins as a birthday tribute.

Next year, the Queen Mother will be due for the signed card and picture the queen sends to every subject who makes it to the age of 100.