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.
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"I was absolutely astounded and devastated because we'd known she was in failing health, but because we had seen her invite the new Prime Minister to fill the role on Tuesday, I was in such shock - it was totally unexpected," Anne recalled to the Mirror on Friday about hearing the news of the Queen's death - which was announced with a Palace statement at 6.30pm on September 8.
Anne had been golfing with her family that afternoon and heard on the radio on the drive home that Her Majesty was unwell, and so they began to pray for her recovery. As soon as she arrived back to her son's home in Guildford, Surrey, she became fixated on the television.
"We put the TV on and just watched it in disbelief and I found it really upsetting," the mum-of-two recalled.
"I did cry. Then Friday morning putting BBC Breakfast on and hearing the journalists speak, I was really upset and was crying again.
"She's been the only monarch I've known in my lifetime, like with so many people, so to think she's not going to be there anymore, is surreal."
Anne adds: "We always knew this would happen one day of course…
"She'd lost her mother, her sister, and her life partner, which would have had a massive impact on her, but she kept carrying on."
Anne, who describes herself as very patriotic, says her mother taught her all about the Queen from when she was a child, with her mum owning a collection of books on the sovereign.
"She has done such a marvellous job, has devoted her whole life to the duty of the nation and the Commonwealth," Anne begins to explain on why she was so fond of Queen Elizabeth II.
"She had a smile that lit up anywhere she ever went. She was just a very special truly remarkable lady who I've admired greatly like so many others."
Despite never meeting her, Anne, who has been inside Buckingham Palace twice and Sandringham House twice, along with boarding the Royal Yacht Britannia, caught sight of the Queen once during a visit to Royal Ascot in York around 12 years ago, and again outside Sheffield Cathedral about eight years ago.
She argues she brought comfort to people, and wouldn't dream of missing her annual Christmas Day speeches.
"It was raining at Ascot and she came past in her carriage with a see-through umbrella smiling, and it was like 'everything is alright, the Queen is here and she is smiling," Anne remembers.
But her favourite memories of the Queen - who reigned for 70 years - have been seeing her relaxing in the countryside with her dogs, horses and family - being a mother and grandmother.
"Her smile said it all really," Anne adds, referencing the photo of Her Majesty alongside the Duke of Edinburgh and their great-grandchildren.
She says there is no denying that King Charles III has massive shoes to fill, but praised him for his environmental efforts.
"The Queen adapted to everything going on around her and moved with the times,” Anne added.
"He's got a very hard act to follow without a doubt - only time will tell.
"It will be very very strange without the Queen, it hasn't really sunk in."
King Charles III will lead the royal family in a poignant procession behind the coffin of his mother when it travels to an Edinburgh cathedral on Monday to allow the public to pay their respects.
The Queen will be taken from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to nearby St Giles’ Cathedral where her family, and a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society, will attend a service of thanksgiving for her life.
Her State Funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19, at 11am.
You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here
