Councillor John Williams, leader of Darlington Borough Council: The people of Darlington will mourn her loss just like the rest of the country. The Queen Mother always had the common touch that endeared her to people.

Lord Brian MacKenzie of Framwellgate: My first memory of the Queen Mother is as a child in Darlington, when my mother talked about a visit by her to the town - it was obviously a great occasion. She has been a great matriarch of the royal family. It is always sad when someone passes away but I am sure she will be remembered with great affection. We should celebrate a great life, rather than being miserable. She had a long life and served her country well.

Lord Barnard: It is an enormously sad thing to happen to us all, particularly in this area where she was known so well. I think most people who met her particularly admired her great sense of duty, which has meant so much to this nation.

Alan Beith, MP for Berwick: The Queen Mother was greatly loved and will be hugely missed. The way she rose so marvellously to a totally unexpected challenge when her husband became king, the way she gave leadership and inspiration during the Second World War, and the tireless way she continued her public service until she was over a hundred - these things are unforgettable. There are many happy memories of her numerous visits to Northumberland and the warmth she radiated on each occasion. Her family connections with the region are yet another reason why she will be specially missed here.

York MP Hugh Bayley, who is vice-patron of a charity which is trying to establish a permanent memorial to the role that women played during the war: She will be greatly missed, especially by the Second World War generation. She had the common touch and made the Royal Family relevant to ordinary people during the war. My sympathy goes out to all the royal family at this sad time.

The Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Crispian Strachan: It was with great sadness that I learnt of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was a remarkable lady who lived through a remarkable century and her loss will be keenly felt by everyone whose lives she touched.

Councillor Brian Stephens, leader of Sedgefield Borough Council, who met the Queen Mother in 1975: It's very sad, to say the least. She was very gracious indeed.

Robin Rackham, chairman of the Teesdale Buildings Preservation Trust: She gave her recognition and her name to a very small buildings preservation trust in the North of England - I think probably because of her roots up here. I think it helped us sell the properties because of the Press coverage we got from her visits.

Aycliffe Angel Vera Ball: She belonged to a remarkable generation. We held her up as one of us mothers and women. It's very sad. We all pulled together during the war and she was a leader of a remarkable generation.

Phil Willis, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP: The death of the Queen Mother is the end of a remarkable era and a remarkable woman who set unprecedented standards in terms of the way she conducted herself in both her private and public lives.

Anne McIntosh, Vale of York MP: She has been a particularly strong role model over the last 50 years and will be sadly missed.

Lesley Taylor, chairman of the Friends of the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, of which the Queen Mother was a patron: It will be greeted with great sadness by the Friends