COMMUNITIES across Kent joined people throughout the world today in saying a final farewell to the Queen Mother.

The county come to a standstill at 11.30am as thousands paid their last respects to a special lady.

People working in supermarkets, council offices and thousands of firms honoured a two-minute silence as the funeral was held at Westminster Abbey. At the funeral service the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, paid tribute to the Queen Mother's gifts of "strength, dignity and laughter".

He summed up what she meant to millions when he stressed: "There was certainly nothing remote or distant about her own sense of dignity. Her smile, her wave, the characteristic tilt of her head: all made the point immediately and beyond words."

Many mourners in East Kent braved the icy winds to watch the funeral in the grounds of Walmer Castle, near Deal. About 150 people sat in deck chairs and watched the service in honour of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports which was displayed on four small screens.

Most of them felt they wanted to be part of history in the making and wished to pay their respects to a woman who was an inspiration. Roger Crane, who lives in Deal with his wife, Phyllis, said: “She never had to say anything; she just had to be there."

Beryl Jones, from Walmer, said: "I never met her but she was an inspiration. I felt quite tearful as I wandered through her garden.”

This afternoon the Queen Mother's body was interred at Windsor, in the George VI Memorial Chapel, during a private service for close family members.