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11 SEPTEMBER, 2001

The devastating terrorist attacks on key buildings in New York and Washington on September the 11th, 2001, caused catastrophic destruction and heavy loss of life.The twin towers of the World Trade Centre were reduced to rubble after hijackers deliberately crashed two passenger aircraft into them. In Washington, the city was placed on a war footing after a third airliner crashed into the Pentagon headquarters, causing a fire and huge damage. Another plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania - its intended target at one stage was reported to be the Camp David presidential retreat.

A harrowing rescue operation continued in New York for days afterwards. At the time, the city's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, said the loss of life would be more than any of us could bear. President Bush said freedom itself had been attacked by "faceless cowards". And he pledged to hunt down those responsible for what he called a "national tragedy".
 Click here to listen to the events of 11 September, as broadcast by BBC Radio News

THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN AFGHANISTAN

Less than four weeks after the terrorist atrocities of September 11th, the United States and Britain began their military operation against targets in Afghanistan. Both President Bush and Tony Blair warned that the assault on Osama bin Laden, his terrorist network and the Taleban regime protecting him would not end until the coalition's full objectives were met in full. Just over a month after the air strikes began, the Afghan capital, Kabul, fell to troops fighting for the opposition, Northern Alliance. At the beginning of December, a deal setting up a transitional government for Afghanistan was signed in Bonn - with the Pashtun tribal leader, Hamid Karzai, named as the head of the interim authority. The hunt for Osama bin Laden continues.
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THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN MOTHER

The Queen was at the bedside when her mother died peacefully in her sleep at the Royal Lodge at Windsor on the thirtieth of March, 2002. The public response initially was muted and some even questioned the decision to recall both Houses of Parliament from their Easter break.

The most heartfelt tribute came from the Prince of Wales who said that his grandmother had meant everything and she had served the British people with "panache, style and unswerving dignity".

As the days passed, the crowds grew and grew. Two hundred thousand people joined the queues to see the Queen Mother lying in state at Westminster Hall and, on the day of her funeral, many more lined the route of the procession to Westminster Abbey and the final journey to Windsor.

At the funeral service, the Archbishop of Canterbury identified the Queen Mother's three best qualities as "strength, dignity and laughter".

Always one of the most popular members of the Royal Family, the Queen Mother rose to prominence with the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. As George VI's Queen, she became a symbol of courage during the war years, making visits to the East End of London during the Blitz. It was perhaps after her husband's death in 1952 that she came into her own, appearing in public well beyond her one hundredth year. She was finally laid to rest beside her husband, King George VI, in Windsor Chapel.
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