Royals mourn princess

LONDON, England -- Britain's royal family has begun a week of mourning for Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister who died at the weekend.

Final preparations for her funeral on Friday are being made as books of condolence are opened at royal palaces and on the monarchy's Web site.

Princess Margaret died on Saturday following a stroke aged 71. She had suffered from ill health for a number of years.

Her funeral will be a private affair of family and friends at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle where Margaret's father King George VI lies.

Flags will fly at half mast at royal residences across the land during five days of official royal mourning leading up to the funeral -- 50 years to the day after her father was laid to rest.

A steady trickle of mourners gathered at St James' Palace, London, on Sunday to sign books of condolence for Princess Margaret as her family joined prayers in church.

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Though comparatively few in number, many of the public left touching personal messages and tributes to the Princess the day after she died in hospital following a stroke at the age of 71.

Among the heartfelt messages, one wrote: "Goodbye to our lovely princess." Another wrote: "Rest in peace, a most wondrous royal princess."

CNN's Hala Gorani reported that other well-wishers were outside Margaret's home, Kensington Palace, to show their sympathy.

A number left flowers though nowhere in the numbers that had marked the death of Princess Diana four-and-a-half years ago.

Members of the public also were being encouraged to leave messages on the royal family's Web site for an enigmatic royal figure who, in the words of her nephew Prince Charles, "loved life and lived it to the full."

Charles, in an unscripted eulogy, said: "My darling aunt had such a dreadful time the last few years with her awful illness and it was hard for her to deal with, particularly as she was such a wonderfully vibrant woman with such a free spirit.

"She lived life and loved it to the full and for that we will always remember her."

Led by the royal family, churchgoers throughout Britain remembered Margaret at Sunday services across the country.

She was remembered for her "beauty and creativity" in a church service held on the Sandringham Estate, eastern England.

The Duke of Edinburgh and about 80 parishioners attended Sunday's regular service in the 13th Century St Mary Magdalene Church to pay their respects to the Princess.

The Queen Mother, supported by Prince Charles, said private prayers for her daughter at a private chapel at Sandringham.

The 101-year-old royal matriarch, who has been unwell with a cold, was said to have spent a day of personal reflection. The Queen was at Windsor, where prayers were also said for the princess.

Princess Margaret's children, Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto, were at Kensington Palace, their mother's London residence, where her coffin is resting.

The British flag flies at half-mast over Windsor Castle.

Family and close friends were expected to pay their private respects before the coffin is moved, early in the week, to the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace, where it will remain until Thursday.

A private, rather than state, funeral is being held at St. George's Chapel at Windsor, 20 miles west of London, on Friday. A memorial service involving the public will be held at a later date.

Once a glamorous fast-lane figure, Margaret had been dogged by medical problems in recent years and was little seen in public. Her last appearance was in a wheelchair.

Princess Margaret's death comes amid her sister's Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of her accession to Britain's throne.

Visits by the queen to Jamaica, New Zealand and Australia later this month are scheduled to go ahead as planned.