BY the death of Her Majesty Queen Mary on the 24th of March, 1953, the Life-boat Service lost one of its three Royal Patrons. Queen Mary was the third of the five queens—Queen Vic- toria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother), and Queen Elizabeth II— who have given the Service their patronage, and she was associated with its work for 57 of her 85 years, only six years fewer than Queen Victoria.

As Duchess of Cornwall and York she became President of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Life-boat Saturday Fund in 1895, and in 1902, as Princess of Wales, she became a vice-patron of the Institution. King George V, on his accession to the throne in 1910, became the Institution's Patron. A year later Queen Mary also became a Patron, and for the first time the Institution had two Patrons.

During those years Her Majesty showed her personal interest in the Service in a variety of ways. As Princess of Wales, in 1903, she received purses for it at Marlborough House from 125 ladies from all parts of the country. As Queen she was present with the King, the Prince of Wales and the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, at the life-boat variety matinee at the London Hippodrome in 1930.

On Queen Mary's death the chair- man of the Committee of Management, Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., sent telegrams of sympathy to the Queen and to the Duchess of Kent, President of the Institution. The Queen telegraphed: "I am sincerely grateful for your message. Please assure all those for whom you speak that I deeply value their sympathy." The Duchess of Kent telegraphed her "heartfelt thanks" to the com- mittee, officers, crews and voluntary workers of the Institution.

At their meeting on the 9th of April the committee of management sent the following "humble and loyal message" to the Queen.

"The Committe of Management and the officers and staff of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, the honorary officials of its branches and of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild through- out the British Isles, and the cox- swains and crews of its life-boats round their coasts, desire to express to Your Majesty their deep grief at the death of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Mary, to offer to Your Majesty their loyal and deep sympathy, to assure you of the devotion of the Service to your Person and Crown, and to place on record the gratitude of the Life- boat Service of Great Britain and Ireland to Her Late Majesty for her association with its work as Vice- Patron and as Patron during 57 years and for the personal help which, on many occasions, she gave to the Service.".