Charities mourn loss of popular figurehead

The Queen Mother's favourite charities today paid tribute to her support for their good causes but admitted that their finances would be unaffected by her demise.

The charities, which include the Royal British Legion and the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association (SSAFA), said her death had robbed them of an "irreplaceable figurehead".

According to Clarence House, the Queen Mother's official residence, she was connected with approximately 350 charities and other good causes at the time of her death.

Although a spokeswoman declined to provide a list of these organisations, the Queen Mother was known to be most closely associated with the Red Cross, St John Ambulance, Mothers' Union, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, SSAFA and the legion.

She was also patron of the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation, Mencap, the National Deaf Children's Society, Brompton hospital, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea hospitals, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and the Royal College of Nursing.

Tony Wright, accountant for the women's section of the legion, of which the 101-year-old was president, said she was regarded as a figurehead by many of the elderly female volunteers and would be difficult to replace in that respect.

But Mr Wright said her death would not have a serious impact on donations.

"It won't be a tremendous loss financially," he said. "Our fundraising is done locally and our volunteers are very dedicated. And as we don't do direct marketing to the public the Queen Mother has not been important in terms of raising awareness of our work."

The national society for the prevention of cruelty to children (NSPCC), which the Queen Mother has been a patron of since 1939, also said her death was unlikely to adversely affect them.

"She has not been that actively involved. I don't think that her death will have a direct knockon effect," said a spokeswoman.

An SSAFA spokeswoman said the wartime figure had provided "considerable" financial assistance to them over her 65 years as its patron.

"She established the Queen Mother's fund in 1948 which has helped more than 5,000 individual cases, from dependants widowed or incapacitated in war, to deserted wives and single parents," she said. "I have no idea what will happen to that money now but we will find other ways to raise it."

She added that the Queen Mother had been an important role model for the association's 7,500 volunteers.

"We send out a thank you note to them which has her image on the front," she said. "We recently considered changing it but our volunteers wanted her to remain on the card, so she was a great motivator for them and will be difficult to replace."

Public relations consultant Max Clifford said it was difficult to put a value on having a royal as a patron.

"Princess Diana had huge earning potential. She was the star of the royal family in terms of fundraising and awareness," he said. "After her there is a long gap."

"It is certainly still a plus having a royal as a patron or visitor but nothing like it used to be, except perhaps with older people who are more interested in the royal family," he added.

One way of ensuring that the Queen Mother's favourite charities do not suffer financially as a result of her death would be to establish a memorial fund, similar to that set up following the death of the Princess of Wales. The women's section of the legion said it would support calls for such a fund to be set up.

Since the Diana, Princess of Wales, memorial fund was established in September 1997, it has pledged more than ?35m to good causes, including ?12m last year.

More than 250 charities have benefited from the fund, with priority given to those most closely connected with the late princess that were hardest hit by her death.

In March 1998 a one-off payment of ?1m was given to each of the six charities of which she was either patron or president at the time of her death: Centrepoint, the English National Ballet, Great Ormond Street hospital for children, the Leprosy Mission, the National Aids Trust and the Royal Marsden NHS trust.

However, the Diana memorial fund's board has faced unprecedented problems in raising funds and particularly in maintaining the princess's good image and protecting her intellectual property rights.

Although the fund refused requests to comment on the challenges and consequences of establishing a similar organisation to promote the charities associated with the Queen Mother after her death, it would undoubtedly face similar problems.

The Diana fund also has a policy of not competing with other charities. And nothing can go ahead without the approval of the three executors of the princess's estate: her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, her mother Frances Shand Kydd and the Bishop of London, the Rev Richard Chatres.

But the board's main challenge has been balancing its efforts to raise money with concerns about poor taste and tackling the complex legal issues raised by the need to police her intellectual property rights.

Priggish commentators criticised the use of the memorial fund's logo on tubs of Flora margarine, sponsor of the London marathon and slated the idea of Diana dolls.