In May Sadie Docherty will stand down as Lord Provost after five years in the most high profile job in the city.

Having spent 10 years as a city councillor for Linn she has decided not to stand for re-election to spend more time with her family and four-year-old granddaughter Grace.

Mrs Docherty, 60, was born in the Gorbals and at the age of two moved to Castlemilk with her parents Patrick and Margaret Boyle.

She is Glasgow's fourth Lord Provost since the post was created in the mid 1400s and served a year longer than the vast majority of her predecessors due to a change in when local government elections are held.

Until taking up the role, the former GHA housing manager had opted to work quietly in the background rather than take a high profile role in the City Chambers.

But all that changed when she was asked to take on the role of Lord Provost and become the civic face of the city.

Her most high profile engagement was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to a television audience of more than one billion.

She said: "Speaking at the closing ceremony was daunting and emotional but I also felt a huge sense of pride in the Glasgow Games. Glasgow shone.

"I think there were 40,000 people in Hampden when I went out there but I really couldn't see any faces.

"I didn't think about the fact it was being broadcast across the world but spoke to the people who were in the stadium..

"The Scotland team were on my right hand side and gave me a cheer and a shout which helped settle my nerves.

"I decided I would enjoy it because it was a once in a lifetime experience and I certainly did enjoy it but I gave a sigh of relief when I had done my bit."

It is typical of Mrs Docherty that during the Games she opted to leave her office overlooking George Square, put on her civic chain and go out and talk to local people and overseas visitors to the city.

She said: "I went out to George Square on many occasions to speak to visitors and many of them didn't have tickets but had watched it on the television and got the atmosphere it created and wanted to be part of it.

"The city was absolutely fantastic during the Commonwealth Games. We were lucky the sun shone and even when it was raining during the road race through the city, the city looked at its best."

As Lord Provost, it was part of Mrs Docherty's duty to meet members of the royal family when they visited the city.

She met the Queen four times, the first time in July 2012 when she came to Glasgow as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Mrs Docherty said: "That was a baptism of fire and nerve wracking because it was early in my time in office.

"I was really nervous but she put me at my ease. The royal party certainly made it easier because they are so good at doing that."

Mrs Docherty picked up the Queen when she arrived for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and was at her side when she opened the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

And she also met Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate, Princes Edward and Andrew and Princess Anne.

In her role as Lord Lieutenant, the Queen's representative in the city, she accompanied William, Kate and Harry when they visited Gorbals sports centre during the Commonwealth Games.

She said: "William and Harry were playing a bit of football and there was a wee bit of rivalry between them but also brotherly love.

"A passing taxi driver who saw them approaching the sports centre lowered his window and asked Prince Harry if he fancied going for a pint."

The day after the closing ceremony of the Games, Mrs Docherty hosted the national commemoration of World War I which was attended by Prince Charles, Prime Minister David Cameron, three First Ministers and heads of state from across the Commonwealth.

She was also the face of city when she visited New York for Tartan Day and met tennis superstar Andy Murray and American politician and diplomat Madeline Albright.

Mrs Docherty also made trips to some of Glasgow's twin cities including Nurnberg for the annual Burns supper where she watched 200 Germans ceilidh dancing which she described as quite a sight.

As Lord Provost she also made trips to Rostov on Don in Russia, Marseille in France and Bethlehem in Palestine.

But the one visit which stands out in her mind was when she travelled to Malawi in association with Unicef on the 10th anniversary of the Lord Provost's Malawi Fund.

She said: "Malawi was a wonderful trip. The people in Malawi are so honest and kind and happy yet it is now the second poorest country in the world.

"I was really struck by the level of poverty that many are facing. They live in mud huts and have to go to the well to get their water.

"The families put an emphasis on education because they can see that is the way for their children to get out of poverty.

"Young people will walk for hours to get to school to get and education in order to change their futures."