‘You would feel like she knew you and you knew her’ – Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire pays heartfelt tribute to ‘rare’ Queen Elizabeth II

“She would always have a joke with you but, through the way she would talk and what she would talk about, you would feel like she knew you and you knew her – that’s a rare quality.”

These are the memories of Sir John Peace, Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, who has remembered and celebrated the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II following her death.

The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on Thursday, aged 96, bringing to an end her historic and record-breaking 70-year reign on the throne.

Now Sir John, who was the Queen’s official representative in Nottinghamshire and now represents the new monarch, King Charles III, has paid a heartfelt tribute to Her Majesty.

The Lord-Lieutenant, who met the Queen numerous times, described her as a ‘truly remarkable lady’ and revealed where he was when he found out about her death.

He said: “You have those JFK moments, those 9/11 moments – those things you never forget – and this was one of them.

“Purely by chance, I was meeting the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and we were going to go to dinner together.

“At 6.30pm, I stood outside his door and he got a call from Lambeth Palace and I got a call from the Cabinet Office – he opened the door and we both said we knew.

“My reaction was deep sadness, my mind was spinning in many directions, but it has become clear she meant a huge amount to the people of Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands.

“People respected her, they trusted her – integrity was immense in everything she did and that’s particularly rare these days.

“To have someone of that stature was very special and I think people feel this very personally – no longer having this rock who’s been our Queen for the past 70 years.”

On the accession of King Charles III, Sir John said he has been an ‘impeccable’ son and will be a ‘great king’.

He said: “A change of monarch affects everybody, I’ve met King Charles and I think he will be a great king, but we need to give him time.

“He’s following on from his mother and has been impeccable as a son, you can see she has prepared him.”

Paying his own tribute, Paul Southby, High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, said: “As has been said by many people since yesterday’s sad news of the death of Her Majesty, she was the only Monarch I have known, and that will be true for the majority of people in Nottinghamshire.

“The Queen and her family have – over the years – provided great support to our county and its people and while it is inevitable this will be an emotional time for all of us, much of the reason for that will, of course, flow from our happy memories of special moments we have witnessed, whether because we were present in person at Royal visits to the County, or because we saw them on television.

“The Queen’s solid presence in all our lives will be sorely missed.

“On one occasion when I was lucky enough to have been close to the Queen on a Royal visit in 1977 for her silver jubilee year, what shone through as I watched her interact with the people present was firstly a genuine interest in what people were saying to her, and secondly her clear and obvious respect for everyone, irrespective of their appearance, their age, their religion, or anything else by which others – sad to say - often judge their fellow human beings.

“Her deep respect for, and her focus on, the dignity of everyone she met brought deep love and admiration for her, and for the service she gave to our nation and its people, the commonwealth and to others all over the world.

“Having very recently lost my own father, my thoughts are with our King and all members of the Royal Family in what I know will be a difficult time for each and every one of them, young and old.

“I wish for them the space and the peace to deal with their loss. As we enter a new era in our country’s history, I look forward with hope, loyalty and respect to the reign of His Majesty, King Charles III.”

The county council is also hosting a proclamation ceremony at County Hall on Sunday to mark the accession of King Charles III.