A special woman with a special place in our hearts

As well as visiting the region throughout her long life, the Queen Mother's connections to the area go back hundreds of years before she was born.

Her ancestors, the Bowes, originally came from Richmond, in North Yorkshire, and acquired the Streatlam estate and Daldon manor in the 14th Century.

They later became the Bowes-Lyon family, which built famous Northern landmarks such as Gibside, near Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, and the Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Many of the graves of the Bowes-Lyons family are buried at the church of St Mary-the-Less, which is part of St John's College, at Durham University.

The Queen Mother's great great-nephew, the 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn, still owns land in the region, and the Queen Mother visited his estate at Holwick, near Barnard Castle, throughout her life.

The Queen Mother was born Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and was the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore.

She spent many family holidays at Bowes, in Teesdale, and, in 1992, while in Barnard Castle, she reminisced: "I always liked staying in Teesdale"

On April 26, 1923, she married Prince Albert, who she affectionately called Bertie, and became the Duchess of York.

In her role as Duchess, she made many official visits to her ancestral North-East home.

In July 1936, she visited the Glamis Pit, Kibblesworth, near Gateshead, and opened a coal shipping terminal, Jarrow Staiths, on the Tyne.

In 1937, she visited the Terry's Chocolate factory, in York, with her husband.

Two years later, she opened a social centre in Tow Law, County Durham.

Throughout her life she visited Fountains Abbey and the Studley Royal Estate, in North Yorkshire, to visit Lady Doris Vyner, who had been one of her bridesmaids.

They always spent time at St Mary's Church on the estate, which overlooks Ripon cathedral.

Among her many patronages, the Queen Mother was a keen supporter of the Bowes Museum, which was founded by her great-great-uncle John.

She was an active patron of the friends of the museum, and next month would have marked her 40th anniversary as patron.

She made a donation to the museum in the 1950s and visited it for the first time on November 11, 1956.

Another donation was made to Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, now sixth form college, which was gutted by fire in 1986.

Having visited the school in 1963 to celebrate its 400th anniversary, she was keen to help it recover from the devastating blaze.

In 1975, she visited the Beamish Open Air Museum, near Stanley, County Durham, and, four years later, laid the foundation stone of the County Hall, in Morpeth, Northumberland.

She was also patron of the Friends of York Minister and visited the city in 1978 to inaugurate the 50th birthday celebrations of the group.

The Queen Mother celebrated her 80th birthday in the region by returning to Bowes, and she helped Newcastle celebrate its 900th birthday be unveiling a plaque in the Eldon Square shopping centre.

She also lent her name to other North-East groups, including the Teesdale Silver Band and Teesdale Buildings Preservation Trust.

She was colonel-in-chief of a number of regiments and often visited the Army's Catterick Garrison, Europe's largest base.

In 1975, the Queen Mother opened the Timothy Hackworth Victorian and Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham. She even loaned a silver replica of an engine to the museum.

Her affection for the area was always on show.

In 1989, she visited Newcastle as part of Tyne-Tees Television's 30th birthday celebrations.

During her visit, she said: "Your beautiful countryside, so close to your cities and industrial areas, as well as the wonderful friendliness of all who live in the region, bring back many happy memories for me."

* She inaugurated the floodlighting season at Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, in 1932, when she visited the Vyner family on the estate. The lighting of the abbey still continues today.

* She opened Mickleton village hall in 1992, built on land owned by her great-great-nephew, the 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn.

* She launched a ship from her wheelchair after damaging her left ankle in 1962. She refused to cancel a visit to the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard, on Tyneside, and carried out her Royal duties, including the ship launch, from her chair.

* She unveiled a commemorative tablet in the chapel at York Minster in 1978, as part of the 50th birthday celebrations of the Friends group, which had raised £6,000 for essential refurbishment. It was her first visit to the minster since the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Kent in 1961.

* She laid the foundation stone of the new County Hall in Morpeth in 1979 and also looked around the area's fire headquarters.

* She opened a complex of luxury flats in a converted school in St Mary's Close, Barnard Castle, in 1992.

* She opened the new wing at Scorton's St John of God Hospital, in North Yorkshire, on the 40th anniversary of the coronation of the late King George VI. The closure of the hospital was announced several weeks ago.

* In 1985, she named a British Rail train in Darlington, The Queen's Own Hussars.

* In 1986, she visited Ripon and then Gateshead to open the new wing of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

* In 1998 she opened Cherryburn Museum at Wylam, in the Tyne Valley.