Queen Elizabeth II: Tributes, reaction and live updates as the people of Lancashire join the nation in period of mourning

Friends, this is a moment of very profound sadness.

Whilst many of us will never have met Queen Elizabeth the Second, we love her very deeply.

She has stood as a sign of unity and stability for our nation during many turbulent decades. Very few of us can even remember another monarch. We are now a nation in deep grief.

So I want to suggest that in these days of grief we do three simple things.

The first is to pray. The Queen was a person of deep and profound faith, a woman who knew that Jesus had died to set her free. And it is in prayer that we too can be reassured in the hope that Jesus gives us. So pray for the Royal Family, for our new King, for our nation and for all afflicted by grief at this time. Pray that we all might know the comfort that Jesus gives.

The second is to give thanks.

What a remarkable life this has been, a life given wholly in service to the nation, the commonwealth and to her family.

Through seventy years the Queen has been a role model, a wise counsellor and a fearless witness to the Gospel. We have been privileged to witness what has surely been one of the great lives of modern times. Let’s give thanks for that.

And the third is to imitate. The best way to remember someone we love is to put into practice in our own lives what we saw and loved in them. This is a time for us all to think how we can serve more richly, give more generously and care more passionately. The Queen made of her life a gift to the world. How can we do the same?

Love endures all things. That’s what St Paul says in his beautiful letter to the Corinthians. As we remember a monarch who loved her people and was loved by them, let’s strengthen one another in the hope that God’s love conquers even death itself.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Former Blackpool FC star and talkSPORT pundit Trevor Sinclair is being investigated by the radio station after tweeting that ‘racism was allowed to thrive' during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

Full story HERE

Lancashire’s politicians, religious leaders and sports clubs have all been paying tribute to Her Majesty The Queen.

The Speaker of the House of Commons and Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle paid tribute to her “calm and steadying influence over our country.”

He said: “For all of us the Queen has been a constant presence in our lives - as familiar as a member of the family.

“Most of us have never known a time when she was not there. Her death is not only a tragedy for the Royal Family, but a terrible loss for us all.

“Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives. She was our equilibrium, our guide and our Queen and we will miss her beyond measure.”

More HERE from the Mayors of Preston and South Ribble and UCLan, among others.

Her Majesty was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and HRH the Prince of Wales for a day-long tour of the town to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

The trio arrived by barge and spent the morning at Weavers’ Triangle and Victoria Mill before heading off to the UCLan/Burnley College Campus in Princess Way and then Turf Moor.

See more images from the day here

The passing of the Queen is a huge sadness - made more poignant because for many of us( I was a Coronation Year baby) in Blackpool, Lancashire and across the UK she has been with us all our lives . We ve grown up with her as a rock of incredible service but also adaptability through 70 years of unprecedented changes and challenges.

I met her , as many other MPs have done , in a reception in Buckingham Palace where I was at the end of the line to be presented to the Queen and Prince Philip in their throne room.

I went out into the corridor with others to be given a drink and looking at one of the pictures I heard behind my back ‘and what do you think of that one’. I turned round and it was the Queen with a mischievous smile - she had with Philip snuck up on us and I had to respond very quickly !

The special relationship of the monarchy with Lancashire ever since Henry IV in 1399 linked its duchy with the Crown has been symbolised for those 70 years in the dinner toast ‘The Queen , the Duke of Lancaster’.

I believe historians will single her out as, a unique world figure , a woman of faith and bravery, who used her international profile and position to be a wise conciliator , especially between the UK and Ireland and the Commonwealth.

Right to the end in her last years , not least in her messages of hope through the traumas of Covid, those were her hallmarks . Thank goodness she was able to see the warmth of her peoples in her final,Platinum , Jubilee’

Blackpool Grand Theatre is deeply saddened by the announcement from Buckingham Palace of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Chief Executive, Adam Knight, said: “The thoughts of everyone at Blackpool Grand Theatre are with the Royal Family at this very sad time. We join with every citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the whole world in mourning the loss of our longest reigning monarch.”

Chair of Blackpool Grand Theatre (Arts & Entertainments) Ltd, Anthony Stone, said: “Her Majesty has a special place in the history of Blackpool Grand Theatre and we were honoured that she visited the theatre on the occasion of our centenary celebrations in 1994”

Parliament will be brimming with memories of the Queen as MPs and peers gather to pay tributes in a special session of condolence.

Both Houses are due to sit at 12pm to allow members to pay their respects, with normal politics on hold for a period of mourning.

The tributes, led by Prime Minister Liz Truss, are due to last until 10pm on Friday.

The changes to everyday items such as bank notes and stamps are expected to take years to complete.

The changes to everyday items such as bank notes and stamps are expected to take years to complete.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II means everyday items taken for granted must now be changed to reflect the new sovereign, King Charles III.

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