Tributes have been flooding in from around the world following the tragic death of The Queen today at the age of 96.
Britain's longest-serving monarch had been on the throne for more than 70 years, during which time she welcomed 15 Prime Ministers - including just two days ago as Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson in what proved to be her final major constitutional act.
Read on for tributes from all seven living Prime Ministers:
Liz Truss (2022-)
"We are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral. The death of Her Majesty The Queen is a huge shock to the nation and to the world.
"Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her.
"She ascended the throne just after the Second World War. She championed the development of the Commonwealth - from a small group of seven countries to a family of 56 nations spanning every continent of the world. We are now a modern, thriving, dynamic nation.
"Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that we needed. She was the very spirit of Great Britain – and that spirit will endure. She has been our longest-ever reigning monarch. It is an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years. Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories.
"In return, she was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world. She has been a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons. Her devotion to duty is an example to us all.
"Earlier this week, at 96, she remained determined to carry out her duties as she appointed me as her 15th Prime Minister. Throughout her life she has visited more than 100 countries and she has touched the lives of millions around the world.
"In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service. It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy.
"Today the Crown passes - as it is has done for more than a thousand years - to our new monarch, our new head of state: His Majesty King Charles III. With the King's family, we mourn the loss of his mother. And as we mourn, we must come together as a people to support him, to help him bear the awesome responsibility that he now carries for us all. We offer him our loyalty and devotion just as his mother devoted so much to so many for so long.
"And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country – exactly as Her Majesty would have wished – by saying the words...
"God Save The King."
Boris Johnson (2019-2022)
"This is our country's saddest day. In the hearts of every one of us there is an ache at the passing of our Queen, a deep and personal sense of loss – far more intense, perhaps, than we expected.
"In these first grim moments since the news, I know that millions and millions of people have been pausing whatever they have been doing, to think about Queen Elizabeth, about the bright and shining light that has finally gone out.
"She seemed so timeless and so wonderful that I am afraid we had come to believe, like children, that she would just go on and on.
"Wave after wave of grief is rolling across the world, from Balmoral – where our thoughts are with all the royal family – and breaking far beyond this country and throughout that great commonwealth of nations that she so cherished and which cherished her in return.
"As is so natural with human beings, it is only when we face the reality of our loss that we truly understand what has gone. It is only really now that we grasp how much she meant for us, how much she did for us, how much she loved us.
"As we think of the void she leaves, we understand the vital role she played, selflessly and calmly embodying the continuity and unity of our country.
"We think of her deep wisdom, and historic understanding, and her seemingly inexhaustible but understated sense of duty. Relentless though her diary must have felt, she never once let it show, and to tens of thousands of events – great and small – she brought her smile and her warmth and her gentle humour – and for an unrivalled 70 years she spread that magic around her kingdom.
"This is our country's saddest day because she had a unique and simple power to make us happy. That is why we loved her. That is why we grieve for Elizabeth the Great, the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history.
"It was one of her best achievements that she not only modernised the constitutional monarchy, but produced an heir to the throne who will amply do justice to her legacy, and whose own sense of duty is in the best traditions of his mother and his country.
"Though our voices may still be choked with sadness we can say with confidence the words not heard in this country for more than seven decades.
"God Save The King."
Theresa May (2016-2019)
"In the United Kingdom and across the entire Commonwealth, we mourn the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"Her Majesty devoted herself unreservedly to a life of service. She was respected and admired not only by her own people but far beyond our family of nations.
"As our longest reigning monarch, Her Majesty witnessed tremendous change, moving adroitly with the times but always providing stability and reassurance. She was our constant throughout this great Elizabethan era.
"On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Her Majesty reminded us to 'never give up, never despair'. It was an address that captured not just the national spirit, but Queen Elizabeth's spirit. A sense of quiet determination, of courage, of faith, and of hope in the future.
"It was the honour of my life to serve her as Prime Minister. But we should never forget that our Queen was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Our thoughts and prayers now are with her family.
"God Save The King."
David Cameron (2010-2016)
"At this solemn and profoundly sad time for our country, the Commonwealth and the world, I offer His Majesty The King and the whole Royal Family my heartfelt condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
"No matter how prepared one could be for this day, there are no words that can adequately express the sense of loss our nation will feel.
"Queen Elizabeth has been the constant in all of our lives over the past 70 years. As our longest serving monarch, her remarkable reign has lasted, for most people, our entire lives - we know nothing else.
"Throughout those even decades, she has been a rock of strength for our nation and the Commonwealth. There can simply be no finer example of dignified public duty and unstinting service and we all owe our sincere gratitude for her continued devotion, living every day by the pledge she made on her 21st birthday. Her dedication to our country has been incomparable and, as such, she leaves an enduring legacy.
"I was very proud to have served as Queen Elizabeth's twelfth Prime Minister. It was, each week, a privilege to have the almost unique ability to sit down, in private, with Queen Elizabeth and to be able to call on her sage advice and wise counsel.
"It is a huge advantage of the British system that Prime Ministers have this special access, and I was fortunate to have been able to call on the knowledge of the world's greatest public servant and, indeed, the world's most experienced diplomat.
"Queen Elizabeth's record in foreign affairs speaks for itself: rebuilding relations with Germany after the war; supporting the emergence of a new South Africa; her historic visit to Ireland in 2011, the first ever visit by a reigning British monarch to the Republic; and her unswerving commitment to helping build the Commonwealth into an extraordinary network encompassing one third of the world's population.
"And here at home, she has been a reassuring presence over seven decades, guiding our country through both difficult and joyous times. Most recently, when there was so much uncertainty and anxiety over the emerging pandemic, she was, as always, there for us all.
"Today, I join the whole nation in mourning, but also in commemoration of a most extraordinary reign and a most exceptional life.
"My thoughts and prayers are with The King and the Royal Family at this time of great sadness. The country has lost a devoted public servant; and the Royal Family has lost a much loved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
"I know I join the whole nation in sending His Majesty our good will and all strength as he takes on the grave responsibility as our monarch.
"God Save The King."
Gordon Brown (2007-2010)
"The United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and the entire world are joined together in mourning this evening. HM Queen Elizabeth II served this country to the last. I offer my sincere condolences to the Royal Family. May she rest in peace."
Tony Blair (1997-2007)
"We have lost not just our monarch but the matriarch of our nation, the figure who more than any other brought our country together, kept us in touch with our better nature, personified everything which makes us proud to be British.
"The Queen has been part of my life for all of my life. From the moment I waved my little flag as I watched her, as a child, be driven through the streets of Durham, to the honour of being her Prime Minister, to my last meeting with her and then lunching with her at Windsor Castle for the Garter ceremony just a few months ago, she has been an enduring presence of strength and stability. At that lunch, we sat next to each other and she was on sparkling form as we talked - warm, gracious, humorous and spirited.
"She was not only respected but loved. Respected because of the qualities of duty, decency, integrity and fidelity which she embodied. And loved because of the love and affection she bestowed on us. And far beyond our shores for countless people in lands of every continent, in cities, towns and even remote villages, Queen Elizabeth was known and held in the highest regard. When people would talk about the Queen, they rarely added the name Elizabeth. They didn't need to. She was never a Queen. But The Queen, faithful to her values, her nation, the Commonwealth and to God.
"We will mourn her. We will miss her. But our overwhelming sentiment will be of gratitude, profound, heartfelt and sincere thanks for what she did, what she stood for, for the life she lived and for what she gave us, her grateful subjects. Her reign was indeed glorious. And it was our great good fortune to have had her reign over us.
"Together with my wife Cherie, I send my deepest condolences to King Charles and all the Royal Family."
John Major (1990-1997)
"For 70 years Her Majesty The Queen devoted her life to the service of our nation and its wellbeing. In her public duties she was selfless and wise, with a wonderful generosity of spirit. That is how she lived – and how she led.
"For millions of people – across the Commonwealth and the wider world – she embodied the heart and soul of our nation, and was admired and respected around the globe."
Neil Wilkes
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