I nearly ran over the Queen and her Corgis on my bike and went crashing into a bush – Sun readers remember Her Majesty
WE were flooded with letters as you shared your devastation at the death of the Queen.
Here is a selection of recollections from readers who met Her Majesty.
I CRIED when I heard the news of the passing of our great Queen. The country, and the world, has lost the greatest monarch that has ever lived.
She was loved by everyone and the world will be at a loss without her. Let’s put everything else aside while we mourn the passing of Her Majesty.
ALAN KING
Oldham, Lancs
I LOVED our dear Queen like my own mother and met her on a few occasions — when my father was High Sherriff of Greater London and when he received a knighthood from her at Buckingham House.
I was struck by her humbleness and ability to make people of all classes feel special.
A true icon in a troubled world.
READ MORE ON THE QUEEN'S DEATH
ROBER TITCHENER-BARRETT
West London
REST in peace Ma’am, a wonderful, dignified and dutiful lady with a wicked sense of humour.
We owe you a great debt for all you have done for us as an ambassador for our country and as a role model to aspire to.
Your sacrifices were made with good grace, however difficult they may have been. To the Royal Family, our deepest condolences at this terrible time. God bless you all.
LISA ROHLAND
Dudley, West Mids
I NEARLY RAN THE OVER QUEEN AND HER CORGIS
OUT on her bike as a child, Nikki Crane nearly ploughed into the Queen.
Nikki, 64, of Windsor, Berks recalled: “I ran into the flock of corgis and nearly ran her over. I ended up skidding on my backside down to the bottom of a slope, with foliage sticking out of my hair.
“Somewhat disheveled, I dragged myself up the slope, buckled bike in tow, to find the Queen in her head scarf, peering over the bank asking, ‘are you all right?’ I desperately tried to remember how to address her.
“I’m feeling enormous nostalgia. She created such a firm foundation for us as individuals, the country and the world.
“She brought colour and life to everything and a sense of dignity and pride. We are all feeling the loss.”
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CAN you imagine being employed in the same job for 70 years?
Elizabeth, you were the epitome of hard work, dedication and duty to your country, a major example to Great Britain for a Great British Institution. God Bless You Ma’am. Rest in peace.
GARY LILLEY
South Shields
A VERY sad day. No one in history has done more for this country for so many years. The Queen truly was the best ambassador we could ever have had.
Having vowed a lifetime commitment when she came to the throne, she worked tirelessly, until two days before she died.
God bless you Ma’am.
IAN DARKES
Worthing, West Sussex
ALL my life I have cherished the memory of the day the beautiful queen waved to me.
She came to Paisley when I was ten or 11. I was the only child waving to her on her way in.
Prince Philip spotted me and pointed me out and they both waved in my direction.
Thank you for being our Queen and for working so hard all these years. Proud to have you as my Queen. Rest in peace with Philip. You’ve earned it, Your Majesty.
DONNA GRIEVE
Paisley, Renfrewshire
YOUR Majesty, you have been a Queen worthy of our love and admiration throughout your glorious reign. I will for ever hold you dear in my heart. RIP and go and rest with your beloved husband and consort Prince Philip.
You certainly did as promised on your Coronation, serving your subjects and country with honour, grace and dignity your whole life. I am deeply sad at your passing but for ever grateful for your service.
TIM O’CONNEL
Middlesex
QUIET strength, dedication to her family and the nation, I am so sad at the passing of our Queen.
In these troubled times, Queen Elizabeth understood our fears and looked to a better future for all of us. Her long reign of selfless service will never be matched. We have lost a wise friend who cared deeply for her people. RIP Your Majesty.
MARY WINDSOR
Mansfield, Notts
QUEEN Elizabeth dedicated her life and heart to her people. True to her word until the end, no matter what she was going through in her personal life, she was there for us.
Now reunited with her loving husband. Please God wrap your arms around our Queen.
SUSAN WALKER
Newport, Gwent
ABERFAN SURVIVOR
ABERFAN disaster survivor Jeff Edwards met the Queen in 2012, above, more than 40 years after being pulled from the rubble of his school buried by coal slip.
Jeff, 52, said: “Straight away the Queen said, ‘Oh, you’re the young lad with the white hair’.
“She had remembered the picture of me being carried out by Tom Harding, the greengrocer, inset. All the ambulances had gone, so I was taken to hospital in the back of a grocer’s van with the cabbages.
“She has met thousands of people. For her to remember somebody who came out of a disaster with white hair was emotional.”
IT is with a heavy heart that the nation mourns our beloved Queen Elizabeth.
What a sad day for the royals and the people of the UK.
The Queen was a magnificent woman, a true inspiration to us all in her years of service to her people. She will be sadly missed.
SUZY PORTER
Downpatrick, Co Down
HER Majesty never put a foot wrong in her long rein.
She was devoted to the country and Commonwealth. Her integrity and wisdom served the nation well. History will record this. God bless you, Ma’am.
NICK FLETCHER
Malton, North Yorkshire
THE Queen will be sadly missed. She was a kind-hearted person who loved her country and tried her best to be a good ruler.
Her remarkable 70-year reign will probably never be repeated, and throughout her life, and sometimes scandals, she kept her head up high and did us proud. I feel for her family that she is no longer at the helm.
Charles has big shoes to fill. His mother set a precedent of exceptional performance. I hope he makes her proud.
ANNA HAMMETT
Neston, Cheshire
MY wife and I are so very sad at the passing of our wonderful, caring, compassionate Queen, who has reigned and led our great country over the past 70 years.
It was only a short time ago we received a personal signed photograph celebrating our 70th wedding anniversary from Her Majesty featuring her lovely smile.
She lit up the world and everyone who had the pleasure to meet her Rest in peace Ma’am.
BILL FISH
Havant, Hants
SEPTEMBER 8, 2022, will go down as one of our saddest days. Watching so many people brushing away tears made you realise how much our wonderful Queen was loved.
TERRY WILLIAMS
Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex
THE whole world is mourning the death of our beloved Queen. She endured many difficult times while maintaining her dignity and never let down her people or her beloved country.
Our lives will never be the same without her and her wonderful smile and manners. She was our very steady, irreplaceable rock.
Her son Charles has a huge job trying to step into her shoes. He must get the respect he deserves.
He and his family have lost a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. The loss must be unbearable and our love and thoughts go to all her family.
CHRISTINA BROOKS
Shanklin, Isle of Wight
OUR wonderful Queen’s death has left myself and my family devastated.
She was all we have ever known and has been a rock for this country, no matter what the crisis. There will never be anyone like her.
She has been amazing and in her 70-year reign has served this country magnificently and faultlessly. She will be missed so much and our hearts go out to King Charles III and her family.
VALERIE RITCH
St Ives, Cambs
A WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE
MARILYNN DOMLEO was a housekeeper for the Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, who the Queen visited in 1987.
Brit Marilynn, 72, recalls: “Mr Bourassa told the Queen all about me and she asked to meet me.
“We chatted for 15 minutes, I’m still surprised I managed to string sentences together. She asked me all about how I ended up in Canada and what life had been like for me when I was younger back in the UK.
“A photographer took lots of pictures of us chatting. A few weeks after, a beautiful ivory photo album appeared in the post, addressed to me from Buckingham Palace.
“Her Majesty had printed all the pictures of our meeting and had them put into an album for me. I cried. It was so thoughtful.”
AS a seven-year-old I still remember being squashed into our middle room with my three brothers and sister, aunties and my parents, to watch on a small screen the Coronation of our late Queen.
Her Majesty has been the one solid thing in all the turbulence of the past 70 years our country has gone through.
I feel sad but proud to have lived through her reign. May God give her family strength and comfort to know the love that this country, the Commonwealth and beyond had for her. Rest in peace and God save the King.
GEORGE WILKINSON
Romford, Essex
WELL done to The Sun for a fitting tribute to our Queen. No one deserves it more for her service to our country and the world. RIP your Majesty, reunited with her beloved husband Philip.
EDDIE MARRIS
Doncaster
QUEEN Elizabeth II’s dedication and commitment to serving the UK and Commonwealth endured to the last few days of her life.
She has been a constant blanket of security for the nation and we shall all miss her.
In the sketch during the Platinum Jubilee this year, Paddington Bear so succinctly yet perfectly said what the nation was thinking: “Thank you, Ma’am, for everything.”
DIANE SILVA
Bournemouth
WE have lost not only a great Queen but a great lady who never put a foot wrong during her 70-year reign.
It is like losing a member of your own family. I’ll never forget that happy smile, her dignity and overall natural warmth. RIP Ma’am.
LES HOLT
Prestwich, Manchester
WHEN I think of world-famous ladies from the past like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale, none can compare to our cherished Queen Elizabeth II.
She was world-renowned, of historical greatness and never forgot a face.
RICHARD FARRAR
Chelsea, London
IN all the tributes paid to the Queen following her death, no one mentioned her main contribution to the Royal Family. She was a very astute businesswoman and turned The Firm into a worldwide brand. Her personal fortune was some £500,000,000.
JOHN J KEARNS
Gosforth, Newcastle
OUR beloved Queen didn’t rule her people, she served them.
Thank God for her.
PHILLIP MILLER
Wigan, Gtr Manchester
THE Queen was a constant for our country and it is incredible she worked right to the end.
Her Platinum Jubilee showed how much the nation loves her.
We held a minute’s silence at work at 11am. All 1,000 people on site at the boiler manufacturing firm where I work stood together in solidarity, showing respect.
SUSANNE ALBUTT
Worcester
I ARRANGED Big Lunch street parties and was honoured to visit the Palace. It was awe-inspiring — and inspiring people is what the Queen did throughout her life.
It’s the end of an era.
She certainly honoured her 21st birthday promise to serve her country through her life.
GWEN COOK
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
WE have lost the most important person in the world.
She always put duty to the crown before everything else and has been a beacon of hope and light for us all in the toughest times.
She is free from the constraints of her birthright, and can now be with her beloved husband Philip.
Our thoughts go to the Royal Family, and we now wonder how things will ever be the same again.
RIP our dearly beloved Queen.
ASHLEY SMITH
March, Cambs
- Send your tributes and memories to queenandme@thesun.co.uk or add to our online condolences book at bit.ly/3TVUKxv
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MEGAFAN Iain Milligan will see the Queen lying in state in Edinburgh then make the 800-mile round-trip to London for her funeral.
Leaflet firm boss Iain, 53, from Udston, South Lanarks, said: “I’m going to see her coffin to show my respects.
“It’s especially poignant for us as the Queen passed away in Scotland.
“And I’ve booked three days in London for her funeral. Millions will be there and I had to be part of it.
“The Queen was such a genuine and superb lady.”
THE ANIMAL LOVER
RACHEL DRISCOLL was working at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London in March 2015 when the Queen and Prince Philip visited.
She and her German shepherd rescue dog Suki were part of a guard of honour to greet the royals.
Rachel, 42, from Dartford, Kent, says: “The dogs were on their best behaviour. Then, as the Queen was walking by, Suki decided to sniff her handbag. The Queen made a fuss of Suki, stroking her head, above. It was such a surreal moment. Her Majesty told me she thought Suki was a lovely dog, but the thing I’ll remember most is her beautiful smile.
“Prince Philip was walking behind the Queen and laughing at the whole episode.”