MILLIONS of people said a final, fond farewell today to the royal grandmother who captivated a nation.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of London following on from the 160,000 who filed past the coffin to pay their respects to the Queen Mother at Westminster Hall.

A mass of more than 2,000 of her favourite traditional English summer garden flowers adorned Westminster Abbey for the occasion, which was watched by millions on TV.

And the order of service provided a poignant tribute and an emotional epitaph to the woman whose death aged 101 prompted an outburst of love from the Royal Family and the whole nation.

A poem by an unknown author summed up her zest for life with the words: "You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on."

Factories and offices across the UK had already arranged for work to come to a standstill at 11.30am for a period of silence. Train and bus stations and other travel centres had already planned announcements to give passengers the chance to join the huge show of respect.

Some firms told staff not to sell any goods or services during the period of silence. The mood of the crowd along the funeral route was summed up by 16-year-old Lara Kenny, a pupil at Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green, who travelled down from Blackpool with her father, 54-year-old retired haulier Roger.

Lara, who camped out overnight in a small tent to reserve her space, said: "The Queen Mother was quite special. She was always happy and whatever was going on she had a smile on her face. My dad is a big supporter of the Royal Family and I suppose it just rubbed off on me."

Susan Beaumont, 42, of Burnley, said: "We had planned to come down and spend the weekend here. I have been a royalist all my life and Queen Mum was my favourite.

"My mum used to talk about what she did for us during the blitz so I thought I would extend my holiday by a couple days so I could watch the funeral. The flowers here at St James Palace, are beautiful. I have left a teddy bear as a mark of respect."

Clitheroe teenager Alisia Hindle headed straight to pay her respects after getting off a holiday flight at Gatwick.

Alisia, 19, said: "I have only just come back from holiday in Tenerife and it has been on the news all the time over there.

"There was something in the papers last week about people not caring and I thought that was sad so I decided to come and have a look.

"It is kind of like seeing history happen. I might even get to see the princes holding their vigil." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, were all at the abbey to take part in the service.

Dr Carr was asked to read a prayer for the Queen Mother, giving thanks for her love of family, gift of friendship, grace, dignity, courtesy, humour and generosity.

It praised her sheer love of life, courage in times of hardship, depth and reality of her Christian faith, and the good example she set for others to follow.

More than 2,500 police were on duty in a huge Scotland Yard operation to protect the Royal Family and other VIPs.

The Queen last night addressed the nation in a heart-felt message of thanks for the love and respect shown to her mother. She said: "I thank you also from my heart for the love you gave her during her life and the honour you now give her in death."

The Queen Mother's four grandsons last night mounted a poignant vigil at her coffin on the same spot in Westminster Hall where George V's sons honoured their father.