END OF HISTORY: The Queen Mother saw two World Wars and the end of the Raj

On Saturday, March 30, the United Kingdom lost the Queen Mother and India its Last Empress. Queen Elizabeth was at once widow of George VI, proud Scot and tough cookie woman. She famously refused to move to a safe haven when London was bombed by Hitler's Luftwaffe. Queen Elizabeth lived to be 101. Her life spanned a century of romp and pageantry for the royal family. Her husband came to the throne because his brother decided he would rather marry an American commoner than rule an empire.

The Queen Mum's final years saw equal scandal-Diana and Sarah, the Merry Wives of Windsor; the dour Charles, said to be "devastated" by his grandmother's death; the tortured youth of her great-grandsons, William and Harry. It was also the century in which the Sceptred Isle finally succumbed to Cool Britannia. Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the Queen Mother calling her a symbol of Britain's "decency and courage". It is somewhat ironic that the island he governs is so far removed from the one she was born in.

The Queen Mother saw no contradiction between being a Scottish lass and an English royal. She would have been more than a trifle amused at the immediate reaction to her death. BBC had a news presenter announce the national bereavement while wearing a burgundy tie, rather than the customary black. It also referred to her as "old woman". Charles is said to have been livid. The Beeb brushed aside all protest. In death as in life, England's favourite Scot must have been exasperated by the ways of the English.

Other than the fact that India was once ruled in her husband's name, the Queen Mother was known in this country for the Koh-i-noor diamond that formed part of her crown. It was with her till the end, being placed on the coffin.

Queen Mothers in English history have this reputation for being canny, crusty and intriguing. When Edward III became king in the 14th century he had to exile his mother, Isabella, and execute her lover before he became his own king. In comparison Queen Elizabeth II's mother was a simple soul, who, it is said, liked her drink and liked even more to laugh. She chose Diana for her first grandson and then, the princess' people allege, encouraged Charles to stray. Trust the intellectual luvvies. They fashioned a whole new Red Riding Hood epic: ignore the wolf, demonise the granny. Goodbye Queen Mum, be happy in Avalon.

-Ashok Malik

HIGH AND MIGHTY
God Enters Lords

HEAVEN'S ALLY: Dholakia

Lord Ganesha, the elephant God, has made his way from Hindu heaven to the British House of Lords. The divine lord appears on the coat of arms of temporal Lord Navnit Dholakia, president of the Liberal Democratic Party.

The design represents a multicultural Britain, says Dholakia. "Besides, Ganesha is the god of luck and I hope He will bring me that in Lords. I think He has brought me luck ever since I was a councillor in the 1960s," he says.

The coat of arms features dolphins and blackbuck as well. The dolphins symbolise the sea close to where Dholakia lives in Sussex. The blackbuck, which is common in the Indian state of Gujarat, shows his close link to the land of his birth. Dholakia's motto is Carpe Diem, Latin for "seize the day".

HEAVEN'S ALLY: Dholakia

Skeleton Hunt

At 12 a.m. on April Fool's day, the US Government threw open its 1930 census archives to the American people, a lot obsessed with genealogy (now you know why Alex Haley's Roots was a bestseller). Hundreds have since delved into the long-hidden secrets of their great-grandparents to find out, for example, whether great-grandfather was living with great-grandmother or not. The records detail who the 132 million individuals surveyed dwelt with, among other things. Back then the symbol for wife was "H" for homemaker.