In the nationalist and republican area of Andersonstown in west Belfast, people have been reacting to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

One lady added that her father, who is from west Belfast, was also saddened to hear of the Queen's passing.

Image source, RTÉ

"She's a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, I thought she reigned well," one woman said.

"I'm personally sorry to see her go. She was a nice lady."

Another man said that he has "respect for anybody that dies" but added that there is "a lot of history too".

Elizabeth Fielding is among members of the public delivering floral tributes today.

Speaking at St Columb's Cathedral in Londonderry, she said:

Keiron Tourish
BBC News NI north west correspondent

The union flag at Ebrington Primary School in the Waterside area of Londonderry is being flown at half-mast to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

"It's a strange and sad feeling here at Ebrington Primary School", principal Brian Guthrie says.

Image source, PA Media

The NI International Air Show, which was due to take place in Portrush this weekend, has been cancelled as a mark of respect.

Flags across Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council will be lowered to half mast and books of condolences will be opened in Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady and Ballycastle.

An online book of condolences will also be available.

Confirming the cancellation, mayor Ivor Wallace, said the Queen's passing had left an "undeniable void across our entire society".

“On behalf of the Borough, I offer my thanks for the past 70 years, along with my most sincere sympathies. God save the King."

Image source, Creative Commons

Queen's University Belfast has postponed its undergraduate open day that was due to be held on Saturday.

In an online statement, the university said the decision was taken as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

"We hope that all the attendees and their families will understand this decision," the statement said.

"The event will be rescheduled and a further update will be sent to all registered attendees in the coming days."

People have been travelling to Royal Hillsborough to pay their respects to the Queen.

Clare Brooks travelled from the village of Killinchy in County Down on Friday morning with her 11-month-old daughter, Georgie.

"It's so sad she'll never really know the Queen, it'll be what we tell her and what she'll hopefully learn from school," she said.

She added that Georgie was born during a centenary year and received a certificate from the mayor of Ards and North Down Council reflecting the occasion.

"It just means so much to us," she said.

"In this country it's so divided but if we can lay a bunch of flowers then we'll do it."

Lady Mary Peters also stopped by the gates of Hillsborough Castle on Friday to lay a floral tribute.

She said she is "deeply saddened" at the passing of the Queen and "the steadfastness of her reign will be an indelible part of history".

Lady Mary Peters added that the time she spent meeting the Queen "will forever be treasured".

Saturday will mark the 50th anniversary of the Northern Ireland athlete's historic gold medal win in the pentathlon at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

Books of condolence are being opened across Northern Ireland today to allow people to pay their respects to the Queen.

Many are opening from midday and will be available to sign in the following locations:

• Belfast City Hall
• Londonderry's Guildhall
• Antrim Castle Gardens
• Ballyclare War Memorial Park
• Mossley Mill Civic Square
• Bangor Town Hall
• Arts Centre, Newtownards
• Ballymoney Town Hall

• Coleraine Town Hall
• Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady
• Sheskburn House, Ballycastle

An online book of condolence can also be signed here., external

Image source, Reuters

Image source, COI

The All Ireland Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop John McDowell says the Queen shifted public opinion in the Republic of Ireland by her quiet work on supporting the peace process.

"Of course there is still a little bit of mystery and glamour around the monarchy and that appealed to all sorts of people at a fundamental level and that was the case among many in the Republic and there are many many people in the Republic who wouldn't hear a wrong word about her."

Image source, Pacemaker

Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey says the Queen "came to be recognised internationally for her personal dignity and her commitment to her public duty".

"This is of course a particularly sorrowful time for those with a British and unionist identity, especially coming so soon after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations," Mr Maskey said in a statement.

"However, Queen Elizabeth was also respected and held in high regard by many in our wider society, particularly given the significant leadership she contributed to making political progress here.

"Her passing will therefore be mourned by many across the whole community in the days to come."

Former Taoiseach (Irish PM) Bertie Ahern says he was "honoured and privileged" to have met Queen Elizabeth II on five occasions.

Mr Ahern says he even attended a lunch with the Queen shortly after the signing of The Good Friday Peace Agreement at Buckingham Palace.

"I spent the entire lunch time with her, most of the time listening it must be said, as she chatted away to my delight," he says.

Mr Ahern says he was particularly struck by her knowledge of Northern Ireland throughout the conflict and the subsequent peace talks during the lunch.

"She knew all the major players, the individuals by name, all the parties from reading these daily reports every day, but it mustn't have been easy."

Mr Ahern also reflects on the "massive moment" in Irish history when the Queen laid a wreath to remember the lives lost in the 1916 Easter Rising during a visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011.

He says her determination to visit the Republic of Ireland was "something she very much wanted" and something that was very much welcome.

Image source, Reuters

The Northern Ireland Office is expected to release more detail later on travel arrangements to Royal Hillsborough.

The police have said they expect a higher footfall as people come to pay their respects.

Currently, a one-way traffic system is in place, with potential disruption and delays expected.

Joy Crawford, who is pictured wearing a waistcoat of the Queen's face, says the news of her death is "hard to take".

At the Shankill mural of Queen Elizabeth II this morning, residents have been gathering to pay their respects to the late monarch.

Taylor and Paige work at a daycare nursery off the Shankill Road. They tell BBC News NI that they are heart broken and it feels like "we’ve lost a family member".

Julie Stockman is among a group of four women from the Shankill Road who have booked flights to London in the hope of seeing the Queen’s funeral cortège.

Mark Simpson
BBC News NI

Flowers are laid at murals of Queen Elizabeth II in the Shankhill Road area of Belfast on Friday.

The royal gun salute from Hillsborough Castle is expected to take place at 13:00 today, the office of Lord-Lieutenant Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle tweets.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says he "never ceased to be inspired by this wonderful lady".

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader tells Good Morning Ulster there will be many people across Northern Ireland who will have memories of meeting the Queen, and many others who will have been inspired by her.

"She was someone who was capable of reaching out across divides and touching the lives of so many, and she did," he says.

"She had the remarkable ability in her presence to make people feel at ease."

Sir Jeffrey says her visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011 "did so much to heal deep wounds in British-Irish relations".

"I think it was a cathartic moment for us and a true symbol, a true example, of what reconciliation can look like," he says.

"I think it would be a wonderful tribute to her Majesty the Queen that we continue and strive to build upon those foundations that she so carefully laid during her visits to the island, and particularly in Northern Ireland, and the empathy she demonstrated to those who had suffered so grievously during our troubled past."

Image source, Pacemaker

Londonderry community worker Jeanette Warke was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 1999.

"I will always remember that day and I will never forget that lady," Ms Warke tells BBC Radio Foyle.

"It was just a privilege to stand before her and look into her eyes.

King Charles III will travel from Balmoral to London on Friday with his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort.

The new monarch will hold an audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace and will make his first speech as King, according to his spokesman.

The government is also expected to confirm the period of national mourning.

At midday, bells will toll in tribute to the Queen at Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, Windsor Castle and locations across the UK.

Gun salutes of 96 rounds to mark each year of her life will be fired in Hyde Park and at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.

A remembrance service is also due to take place at St Paul's Cathedral in London this evening.

Image source, PA Media

In 2011, the Queen became the first British monarch to set foot in the Republic of Ireland since it gained independence.

The visit was epitomised by her address to a state banquet in Dublin when she began by speaking in Irish.

Former Irish president Mary McAleese says it was "wonderful" to host the Queen over those four days.

"History was changed", she tells Good Morning Ulster.

"Her emphasis was on trying to straighten out the future to make sure the future didn't become a rocky road because of the baggage and legacy of history.

"She surely put her heart and her soul, as did her husband, into making those four days not just memorable, not just photogenic, but a memory of someone who came on a pilgrimage of sorts."

Image source, PA Media

"She was a woman of deep profound faith," she adds.

"We both drew from the same wells of belief in love and forgiveness, tolerance and respect.

"Many people across the island who would not be supporters of the idea of monarchy would share with me deep sorrow at her passing because she was always a woman worthy of respect.

"Why? Because she earned that respect of seven decades."