People in Cornwall pay respects to ‘true inspiration’

People have been paying their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.

A book of condolence was opened following her death on Thursday.

Callum Hobbis and Sydney Tonks were in the Truro area on holiday and said they had wanted to go to say “thank you for 70 years of pure service”.

Mr Hobbis, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said: “We just wanted to respect the Queen and say thank you for 70 years of pure service, which is absolutely amazing.”

“She is a true inspiration to us all, especially as a woman,” Ms Tonks added.

Shailesh, who was on holiday from London, was at the cathedral looking at the flowers that have been laid outside.

He said: “It just happened so quickly and you don’t know how to handle it.

“She was a mother figure to the nation and you can’t quite come to terms with the fact she has gone.”

People have been steadily moving through the cathedral on Monday, with many choosing to sign the book of condolence.

Beverley Richards, from Truro, was among them and said of the Queen: “She put the people before herself.

“It is a sad sad day but you can only celebrate 96 glorious years”.

Judy White had been in Exeter Cathedral on Friday but the queues were too long to sign the book of condolence.

Her husband, Roger White, said: “She has kept saying how she wished she had signed it there, so we thought we would come in here to Truro on our way to Falmouth today.”

He added: “It is a very sad time.

“We thought she was going to be here forever, everyone was dreading it, and I feel overcome by it all.

“She was always there and now she is not, and you don’t know what is going to happen now.”

One woman laying flowers in Camborne told BBC Radio Cornwall: “I keep crying,” adding the Queen “was just some stability in this country”.

Meanwhile, James Kitto, of Porthleven, was surprised to receive a card from the Queen on Saturday, thanking him for the best wishes he sent her before the Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.

“Inside was a lovely picture of Her Majesty in a blue outfit with a blue and white hat, and then on the back a less formal shot of her in a headscarf.

“I will treasure it now always.”

Mr Kitto, who attended Cornwall’s proclamation of the accession of King Charles III in Truro on Sunday, said it had been “very moving” and “surreal”.

Proclamations have been made across Cornwall on Sunday and Monday.

He said: “The Queen has always had a close affinity with the people of Kenya and visited there quite often.

“I still remember growing up when she was visiting, we were all turned out in our best school uniforms, and greeting her in the streets.

“The Queen has always been part of the family, it is a sad sad loss, not only to the United Kingdom but to the Commonwealth and the world.”

Chris Lock, a British Army Royal Tank Regiment veteran, also attended the proclamation in Bodmin and said: “Queen Elizabeth II was something very, very special.

“I have been affected the last couple of days. She was my Commander in Chief, she was my monarch all of my life without break, and it is like I have lost something of myself.”