Queen Elizabeth II: Tributes paid across Coventry and Warwickshire

As a princess she came to Coventry to inaugurate the new city centre in 1948

Flags are flying at half-mast across Coventry and Warwickshire as a sign of national mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Coventry had been left "deeply saddened" said council leader George Duggins and lord mayor Kevin Maton.

"Today is a very sad day for our country, but while we mourn our loss, we also remember the great joy the Queen brought to many," they said in a joint statement.

Books of condolence have been opened.

Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret attended the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral on 25 May 1962

She first visited the city as a young princess in 1948 to open the new Broadgate and lay the foundation stone for a shopping precinct as the city recovered from World War Two.

The monarch returned many times.

Reverend John Whitcombe said Coventry Cathedral would be open to all to pray or reflect

People gathered to lay flowers at the altar end of the cathedral ruins in the city, where the bells tolled at 12:00 BST

The dean of the cathedral said, like so many in the country, it enjoyed "a special closeness with our Queen".

Her Majesty had laid the foundation stone of the city's new cathedral in 1956, returning for the consecration in 1962.

People gathered at Coventry Cathedral to hear church bells toll

"Queen Elizabeth has shared her life and faith with us throughout her reign. She has wept with us and rejoiced with us," said Reverend John Whitcombe.

"She has inspired us, and led us faithfully in our national life."

The Queen visited Stratford-upon-Avon in 2011

One caller to BBC CWR recounted meeting the Queen when he was working as a groom for a show jumping stable.

Neil Barford, from Corley, in Warwickshire, said his horse had won the prestigious Foxhunter category at the Horse of the Year show at Wembley.

"My boss won it and the groom always got presented with a crystal bowl," he explained.

"So there I was covered in mud and shavings and all kinds of muck. She put her hand out to shake mine, and I was like 'excuse the dirt ma'am'.

"But she said 'if you haven't got any dirt on you, you haven't done your job properly' - and then 'congratulations'."

He added he was "absolutely devastated" to hear of the Queen's death.

The Queen attended the Royal Show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, in 1972

The leader of Warwickshire County Council Izzi Seccombe said: "What a smile. She could lift a room with that wonderful smile and that genuine interest that she has in the people of this country."

"I do remember her smile, I experienced that myself," said the Bishop of Coventry, Reverend Christopher Cocksworth.

"It not only lit up a room, it lit up a nation," he added, "and she had the capacity to make us smile too".

Flowers have been placed in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral

The Queen became patron of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1961, when it was created.

She last visited the Stratford-upon-Avon site in 2011 to formally open a refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

"This was a memorable day in the history of the RSC where she met and talked with members of the company and those involved in the redevelopment and transformation of the theatre," said director Catherine Mallyon and Erica Whyman, the company's acting artistic director.

The Queen attended a royal gala performance of Peter Pan at the RSC in 1982

The company said it was also a "great pleasure" to rehearse with the then Prince of Wales as he prepared to make his "poetic tribute" to his mother on her 90th birthday.

The RSC statement continued:

"Shakespeare's Henry VIII contains a prophecy by Archbishop Cranmer about the baby princess Elizabeth I:

She shall be, to the happiness of England,

An aged princess; many days shall see her,

And yet no day without a deed to crown it.

"Translated to our times, Elizabeth II sought the happiness of England with her steadfast service, certainly lived many days, and did a great deed on every one."

The Queen opened the Swan Theatre at the RSC in 1986

A Motofest event, scheduled to take place in Coventry this weekend, has been postponed, organisers have said.

They added supporting events would also be called off.

Parts of Coventry city centre were lit up after the news

Obituary: A long life marked by a sense of duty

Queen Elizabeth II: A life in pictures

This is the moment history stops

King Charles III, the new monarch

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