The psychologist Carl Jung first alerted me to the theory of the extra-special love that can arise from the long distance non-parental relationship one can have with a grandparent.

In hearing the private and public anecdotes spoken of such a long-lived lady, I confess that I was disconcerted at my lack of emotion at what was quite obviously a sad, but not tragic, demise. My grandparents lived in the East End of London during the Blitz and were uncomfortable at the brief appearances of royalty amongst the rubble that was once home.

Similarly, those members of the Royal family who watch from the balcony the brave souls who march below during Remembrance Sunday down Whitehall, tend to leave me with a sense of detached hypocrisy.

But the Queen Mother was different from today's high-profile House of Windsor. Perhaps that why she will be remembered with such affection.

The speeches made in both Houses of Parliament indicate that it was easy to see God at work in the life of the Queen Mother. And at the end of it, she said that her secret of longevity was that she enjoyed life. I think that what distinguishes her from others in a position of privilege was that she loved people and not institutions.