Queen Elizabeth II: 'She reminded me of my mum'

Claire grew up in Nottingham but now lives with her family in New Zealand

British people with connections to Commonwealth countries have been reflecting on the Queen's ties with nations across the world.

Queen Elizabeth II was head of state in 14 Commonwealth realms and visited every Commonwealth country at least once prior to her death at the age of 96.

'Unique to our nation'

Claire said people had been incredibly sad following the Queen's death

Claire, a strategic analyst, was born in Wollaton in Nottingham, but emigrated to New Zealand in 2008 to live with her husband Ben, who is originally from the country.

She said people had been "incredibly sad" following the Queen's death.

"Normally people who were very restrained were expressing their feelings," she said.

"The radio and television has been full of extended news coverage of people sharing their stories and recollections of the incredible woman she was.

"We are also in a national period of mourning.

"We will have a state memorial service for the Queen. We are also doing books of condolence. Every library in Auckland has a book of condolence. We also had a 96 gun salute in Wellington.

"But there are also lots of recollections here about the Queen and really ones that would make you laugh.

"Of course she visited New Zealand on many occasions. So many people turned out to see her and have shared memories.

"One lady went to see her 30 separate times when she visited."

Claire said her children were also aware of what the Queen's life had meant

Claire, 41, said her children - who were born in New Zealand - were also aware of the monarch's life.

"Our children all know about the Queen. All of the people here do - to them she is as important as she is to us in England," she said.

"But we have had a traditional New Zealand way of commemorating her, in the form of the haka.

"A few days ago, a group of our trainee military performed a haka to commemorate the Queen on the steps of the Auckland museum.

"When you observe it, there is raw emotion. It really is a very personal performance.

"It is really special and unique to our nation.

"There's a great deal of thanks and a great deal of remembering an incredible woman."

'A quiet and sad moment'

Kashmeera Gorecha said she admired the Queen's work

Kashmeera Gorecha, who is of Indian heritage, has lived in Britain since she was five.

"I felt truly shocked and saddened [when I heard about the Queen]," she said.

"This is one of those moments, in 10 years, 20 years' time, you will remember where you were when you heard the news."

She said that within Britain's Indian communities, the reaction had been "solemn".

"We were great followers of the monarchy," she said.

"Many of the older generation have big links with the Commonwealth. It's a quiet and sad moment for our community.

"The different generations have different beliefs about the Commonwealth but the Queen was a steadfast leader.

"You cannot doubt her commitment to the role. Lots of the Indian community admire that. She was very graceful, very steadfast and a strong character.

"As a younger, British Indian woman, I admire the fact she led her family and the whole country in so many different ways."

'She reminded me of my mum'

Merlita Bryan said it would take a long time to get over the Queen's death

Merlita Bryan came to the UK from Jamaica at the age of 11 in 1962.

"This is my home, after such a long time," she said.

"I left Jamaica in such a young age, I didn't know a lot about the Queen.

"But I have seen her travels to Jamaica and I have seen how much they welcome her. For the older generation, the Royal family does mean a great deal to them.

"She represents a particular stance. She was very principled so those values mean a lot to Jamaicans. They are family orientated, as is the Queen.

"Prince Charles was my mother's favourite - she really does love Prince Charles."

Ms Bryan met the Queen twice as a result of the official roles she has held

On a recent royal tour, the Jamaican prime minister said he would rather not have the Queen as head of state any more and Ms Bryan said some Commonwealth countries might reconsider their relationship with the Royal Family in the future.

"I'm sure some countries in the Commonwealth will be re-examining themselves and will be asking if they want to carry on with the head of state as the Royal Family," she said.

"Some might, some might want to change. They will probably give things time to calm down."

Ms Bryan herself said she had felt shocked on learning of the monarch's death.

"She ascended to the throne the year after I was born, so I've grown up with her," she said.

"All of a sudden, she's not there any more and, for me, it's going to take a long time to get over that. I think it will be the same for everybody across the world."

Ms Bryan, a Labour councillor in Nottingham, also served as the Sheriff of Nottingham and met the Queen twice.

"It was very daunting and I wasn't sure what I was going to say," she said.

"She came, she shook my hand and she said 'Well done'.

"She just reminded me of my mum. She was very small, like my mum.

"I also got an invitation from Buckingham Palace in 2017.

"It was so nice. We had a photograph taken and she asked, 'how's Nottingham doing?'

"I said, 'it's doing fine, ma'am.'"