Celebrities were out in force at the Mirror People's Pet Awards on Thursday evening, but the usually upbeat ceremony was filled with emotional tributes for Her Majesty The Queen following the sad news of her death.
Leading the way with heartfelt tributes on the red carpet was Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins, who said: "I feel really emotional, really devastated. I think we all knew because of her age and because of her mobility and health issues that it was coming but it's just been such a shock, it feels really surreal.
"It's the end of an era. She devoted her whole life to this country and she's always been there for everybody. She's been a part of our lives for so long it's really hard to imagine life without her, our country, without her"
Opening up on a time she met the monarch at the age of 11, Charlotte added: "I was picked to hand her a bouquet of flowers when she arrived at Chichester Cathedral for the Maundy Thursday service and, for me, it was a huge honour. I was really nervous as a child thinking, 'I'm going to meet The Queen' but she was so lovely and just put me at ease and she had that ability with everybody she met.
"She's going to be so missed by everybody. I think it's one of those moments where shockwaves are going to reverberate around the country, around the Commonwealth and around the world. It's going to be very different without her and it's such a huge, sad loss. And so much love to the family, it's a difficult situation for them because it's someone we all know but at the same time they're a family grieving a grandmother, a mother at the same time."
Elsewhere, actress Jodie Prenger said: "We've both had the joy of being in the presence of and performing for the Queen. She was the tour de force that showed us girls how to do it and, she'll live on forever."
Natalie Anderson added her heartache, saying: "I'm absolutely heartbroken. I'm a massive royalist and, for me she's the biggest female inspiration for me, personally, and I think that people that know me would know that's the absolute truth. I'm absolutely devastated if I'm brutally honest.
"It's a very difficult evening but what I love about this evening is that she is the patron of Dogs Trust, which has what made it really poignant to stay and support and be here because it's what she would want. She's such a tour de force , especially when it comes to animals and how much she loves animals. We're here this evening and the National Anthem was going... Oh no I'm gonna go.. and the dogs were barking and, like, that's what you would imagine she would want. It was lovely. It was really moving."
As the tributes kept coming, Natasha Baker OBE, said: "The Queen was just such an amazing inspiration. I was very fortunate to meet her on several occasions – she awarded me my MBE a few years ago back in 2013. She was just an incredible force of a woman and she dedicated to so much not just to pets but our whole country and she'll be really sadly missed."
And Patsy Kensit revealed she doesn't think there will ever be another monarch like the "amazing woman" Her Majesty, saying "the country will come together and mourn together".
Opening up on first hearing about the Queen taking over when he was 11, John Craven discussed being fortunate enough to meet her, saying "she's exactly what everybody thinks she is". He described her as a "wonderful, warm person and she was the nation".
Saffron Barker described her devastation and heartache, saying: "She's always put her country first, she never even wanted to be Queen and she always put everyone before herself and that's so clear. To be honest I don't think we can have a better Queen than her. I love her, I love the Royal Family – I never got the chance to meet them.
"But, today is a very weird and emotional day. Obviously I am just gutted like everyone else. It doesn't quite feel real right now, I think."
Danny Hatchers paid his respects before saying: "It's going to take a few days to process – even my grandparents are trying to still figure it out."
And Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes added: "It's one of the saddest days any of us alive to this day can think of or imagine. I served my country twice in the military and as an elite athlete, I've sang and had the privilege of having the national anthem played as I received those awards and accolades and this is someone that I don't think we will feel the enormity of the loss yet – we will realise it really quickly.
"She's just a woman who has literally, as she said, served to her dying day. If you think about that strength of character – the 70 years she has reigned – just everything about her and what she stood for, especially for women, to reign for that long. And her dedication to us. And even the thought of singing the National Anthem without saying The Queen is upsetting, it's so upsetting."
She concluded: "The day was always going to be inevitable, as it is with anybody's life, but it's not something any of us wanted to happen and it's so sad."
