Tearful well-wishers lay sea of flowers for the Queen outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle

Tearful mourners returned to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral this morning to lay flowers and pay tribute to the Queen following her death yesterday aged 96.

Mourners, many dressed all in black, congregated beside hundreds of colourful bouquets and messages at the central London palace, which had been left overnight and early in the morning. 

A large Union flag in tones of black and grey has been pinned to the right flank of the gates, while police officers kept a crowd back from the main gates further to the left. 

Those who wish to leave floral tributes at Buckingham Palace will be guided to lay them at dedicated sites in Green Park or Hyde Park, the Palace said.

Flowers left outside the Palace gates will be moved to the Green Park Floral Tribute Garden by The Royal Parks.

At Windsor Castle, floral tributes can be left at Cambridge Gate on the Long Walk. These flowers will be brought inside the castle each evening and placed on the castle chapter grass on the south side of St George’s Chapel and Cambridge Drive.

At the Sandringham Estate, people are encouraged to leave floral tributes at the Norwich Gates. At Balmoral Castle, floral tributes can be left at the main gate.

At the Palace of Holyroodhouse, people are encouraged to give floral tributes to the wardens at the entrance to The Queen’s Gallery. Those flowers will be laid on the forecourt grass in front of the Palace’s north turret.

At Hillsborough Castle, floral tributes may be laid on the castle forecourt in front of the main gates.

Charity staff are selling bouquets in Green Park after several nearby shops sold out due to rocketing demand in the area as mourners go to lay flowers for the Queen.

People are streaming along the paths through the central London park en route to the royal residence.

Leo Cheung, 37, who has lived in London for 20 years after moving from Hong Kong, was one of hundreds of mourners to lay flowers at Buckingham Palace.

He said: ‘We have a very strong connection to the Queen. We are quite neutral towards the royal family but the Queen has been there since we were born. She was part of our lives and it’s sad to see someone we know pass away.’

Norman Ashley, who was carrying an Australian flag outside Buckingham Palace, said the ‘new era’ of the British monarchy could act as a ‘uniting force’ for the world amid the war in Ukraine.

When asked what the Queen meant to him, he said: ‘We’ve had a feeling of dread for the last week or two because of her deteriorating health. It means a lot to us because she was the Queen of Australia, there’s a Union Jack on our flag and our connection couldn’t have been any closer.’

He added: ‘Perhaps also during this time of world conflict, we can all focus on something else – this emergence into a new era, a uniting force.’

Christine Ashley, 68, from Canberra in Australia, said she landed in the UK for a holiday with her husband Norman Ashley, 71, on Thursday – the day the Queen died – and felt like she had ‘walked into history’.

Speaking outside Buckingham Palace, Mrs Ashley, a dual British-Australian national, said: ‘It’s very sad, very, very sad. Like everyone’s been saying, she’s been part of our lives.’

Mrs Ashley added: ‘I’m a dual citizen, I grew up in the UK, and it’s a time of uncertainty and the Queen was one of those stabilising factors around the world in these troubling times. ‘So I guess there’s a sense of dread about what the future holds.’

Meanwhile, well-wishers braved pouring rain to lay flowers at the gates of Balmoral Castle this morning.

A steady stream of mourners crossed the bridge over the River Dee to offer their condolences to the royal family.

Among them were friends Kay McClennan and Sarah McCoshim who had driven through the Highlands to pay their respects .

Kay, 55, said: ‘We came to pay our respects to the Queen and the royal family. It’s the least we can do. It doesn’t seem real. We only saw her two days ago smiling.’

Sarah, 56, added: ‘I was in London when Princess Diana died. I went to Kensington Palace with some girlfriends from the office to lay flowers. So when I heard the news about the Queen last night I knew I had to come here and do the same.’

The friends both thrive in Blargowerie about 30-minute drive from the castle. Mourners also left poignant messages with their floral tributes.

One read: ‘A mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, your work here is done.’ It was signed Charlotte, Adam, Harriet and Tilly. Another read: ‘throughout the years thank you for your service’.

Thousands of well-wishers flocked to the iconic royal landmarks last night as news broke of the monarch’s passing.

A Union flag atop Buckingham Palace lowered at 6.30pm. It drew gasps from the crowd who knew what the symbolic gesture meant.

The sad news of the Queen’s death was then announced officially. Some people in the crowd wept as others gave an impromptu rendition of God Save The Queen.

As the sun broke through the clouds this morning, many more emotional faces were seen arriving to pay their own personal respects to Her Majesty, as the country is plunged into a period of official mourning.

At midday today, bells are set to toll at St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey and other churches across the country to honour her. 

It comes after senior royals dashed to be at the Queen’s bedside yesterday, but are said to have tragically not reached Balmoral in time before she passed. 

Only her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were already in Scotland at the time of the Monarch’s sudden turn for the worse, were able to make it to the royal estate before her death, sources said last night.

All Her Majesty’s children, as well as grandson Prince William, had rushed to Balmoral on Thursday after doctors became ‘concerned’ for her health. Buckingham Palace released a statement at 12.32pm saying the Queen’s doctors were ‘concerned’ for her health and recommended she remain under medical supervision while family members were informed.

Charles was already at his mother’s side at her beloved Highland home after senior aides, fearing the worst, sent the Queen’s burgundy-liveried helicopter up from Windsor at 6.48am to collect him from Dumfries House in Ayrshire, where he had stayed the night after conducting several official engagements. He made it to Balmoral by 10.27am.

His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall – now Queen Consort, as Elizabeth II requested earlier this year – was already at Birkhall, the couple’s Scottish retreat, and was driven over by car to join him.

It is understood that the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, was already with her mother as she had been undertaking engagements in the area.

Staff hurriedly arranged for a jet to collect the Queen’s other children – Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York – as well as the Countess of Wessex, whom the Queen adores and treats like a second daughter – and bring them up to Aberdeen.

Her grandson, Prince William joined them. His wife Kate remained with their three children, who have recently started a new school.

The sombre family group arrived in Scotland at 4pm, sweeping through the gates at Balmoral in a Range Rover driven by William at 5.06pm. Although Buckingham Palace has not confirmed the time of death, it is thought that they were unable to see their much-loved matriarch before she died.

By coincidence the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – now sadly estranged from most family members – were in Britain from their home in California and due to undertake a charity engagement in London before flying back home to their children.

There was confusion when their spokesman initially said that both Harry and Meghan would fly up to Balmoral to join the family, which caused surprise as spouses would normally be unlikely to join close relatives at a time of personal grief.

But it was later confirmed that Harry would travel alone and he finally arrived at his grandmother’s home at 7.52pm. He was still in the air when the death was confirmed.

The Queen’s death was finally announced at 6.32pm in a short black-edged statement from Buckingham Palace which read simply: ‘The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.’

Today Operation London Bridge will swing into action, the period of ten days between the Queen’s death and her state funeral, which is expected to take place on Monday September 19, as the country is plunged into a period of official mourning.

The Queen’s coffin is expected to remain at Balmoral for at least the next two days before being flown back down to London next week.

But the pendulum to introduce His Majesty to his people will also begin to swing, with Charles and Camilla returning to London as King and Queen Consort today. He is expected to hold his Accession Council tomorrow.

Last night Miss Truss hosted a meeting of ministers, police and royal officials to discuss arrangements for the period of mourning leading up to the Queen’s funeral.

The Union flag on Buckingham Palace was poignantly lowered to half-mast yesterday, while a framed plaque of the statement announcing the Queen’s death was placed on the front gates by royal household staff.

The Royal Standard is never flown at half-mast, even after the Queen’s death, as there is always a monarch on the throne. Flags will fly at half-mast on UK Government buildings in tribute to the Queen from now until the morning after her funeral.

The Queen’s death will see Britain and her Commonwealth realms enter into a ten-day period of mourning as millions of her subjects in the UK and abroad come to terms with her passing.

A number of big events have already been cancelled, including the BBC’s Proms and its famous crescendo, Last Night of the Proms, which were due to take place on Friday and Saturday.