August 4th: The Day The Queen Mother Turned 100

Happy Birthday Queen Mother!

Back in the year 2000, the Queen Mum, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, celebrated her centenary on August 4th. The 100th birthday of the Queen Mother attracted 40,000 people to gather in the Mall to wish her well, and even more watched the celebrations at home. As the first member of the Royal Family to turn 100, she modestly said she was "very pleased indeed".
   Clarence House, the Queen Mother's London home, was filled with presents and cards from the public as well as friends and family. What do you buy someone for their 100th birthday though? Especially for a member of the Royal family?! Celebrating alongside the Queen Mum were 11 other centenarians in England, all sharing their birthdays on August 4th 1900.
   Sadly, only a year or so later, the Queen Mother died on March 30th 2002 at Windsor Lodge aged 101. After her burial on April 9th that year, she left her whole estate, worth approximately £70 million, to her daughter Queen Elizabeth II, and she didn't even have to pay any inheritance tax!