Queen Elizabeth: Thanksgiving services take place in Northern Ireland

A vigil took place on the Shankill Road in north Belfast

Services of thanksgiving for the life of Queen Elizabeth II have taken place across Northern Ireland.

Among them were a community service and vigil on the Shankill Road in west Belfast. Members of the public paid their respects and a wreath was laid at a well-known mural of the Queen.

St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh also hosted a cross-community service.

The Queen's state funeral will be held on Monday in London.

With many from the Shankill community unable to travel to London for the funeral, the local vigil offered them a place to go to pay tribute to the Queen.

Speaking to BBC News NI, people who attended expressed their sadness at her passing and also their love and respect for her.

"She was such a lovely lady and she served our country well," one woman said.

"It's so sad to see...I hope Charles can carry on what she started and carry on in her footsteps.

"She served our country well for such a long time. It's the only monarch I've known and I've such respect for her."

This woman said Monday will be a sad day in her household as the Queen's funeral will take place

Most residents said they planned to watch the funeral on Monday on television.

"She was our Queen, she was our heritage and I've always been a royalist. Royalist first, loyalist second, so I felt like I had to come out," another resident told BBC News NI.

"It'll be very sad. I remember the Queen coming on to the throne, I was eight years of age."

King Charles III and the Queen Consort, Camilla, visited Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

The King met with Stormont's political leaders at Hillsborough Castle, the only royal residence in Northern Ireland, before attending a service of prayer and reflection at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast.

Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of the city to see the royal couple.

Pastor Stephen Reynolds, from the Church of God Shankill, was among church representatives who attended the service.

"It's their opportunity to come together as a community and express what the Queen meant to us," he said.

Pastor Reynolds said the vigil offered people the chance to come together and pay their respects

"She was someone very dear and precious and held in very high regard.

"This is something they can do,something they will remember. Most of them can't go to London but they can come here tonight and celebrate and remember as a community."

During the vigil local bands played music, prayers were said and hymns were sung.

'Life of service'

Representatives from the Church of Ireland, the Catholic Church and Methodist Church were involved in the service at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.

The Dean of Armagh, the Reverend Shane Forster, opened the ceremony of thanksgiving.

"We give thanks for her long and devoted life of service," he said.

"We recall the dedication to duty that exemplified her reign, and reflect on her Christian faith and deep sense of vocation.

"Whilst celebrating her life and work for this country and for the Commonwealth, we also remember her love for her own family and pray especially at this time for His Majesty King Charles and all the members of the Royal Family."

Heather Morris from the Methodist Church delivered the sermon, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh gave a blessing and there were readings by the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Roger Wilson, the chief executive of Armagh, City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

The prayers were then led by community representatives.

The Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh also attended.