When the Queen's peaceful passing was announced on Thursday evening, Anne Cooper, along with many royalists, was in disbelief. The devastated 64-year-old couldn't believe Her Majesty had died just two days after being photographed appointing the new Prime Minister Liz Truss in her beloved home of Balmoral.
Anne, who actually bears the same name as the monarch but has always gone by her middle name to save confusion due to her mother also being called Elizabeth, says she has grown up with an admiration for Queen Elizabeth II - whose "smile lit up everywhere she went". The retired GP receptionist, from Morton, Lincolnshire, is one of the thousands who paid their respects over the weekend by laying flowers outside Windsor Castle - where there is now a sea of bouquets, cards, and gifts pouring out from the gates.
Having observed the sovereign her whole lifetime, Anne says it will take a while for Her Majesty's death to sink in. As a period of National Mourning has commenced until the funeral on Monday, September 19, Anne encapsulates what many across the country and the world are feeling following the great loss, reflecting on what the Queen meant to her.
