 On the death of Queen Mary in 1953 and with the former King Edward VIII living abroad , Elizabeth became the senior member of the British Royal Family and assumed a position as family matriarch . In her later years , she was a consistently popular member of the family , even when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval . She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101 , seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter , Princess Margaret . 
