We salute you: Emotional officer breaks down as Armed Forces and police pay tribute to the Queen

Members of the armed forces and police have paid personal homage to the Queen following her death at the age of 96.

Tributes have poured in across the United Kingdom from service personnel, including the country’s highest-ranking members of the army, navy, RAF and police force.

As the Commander-in-Chief and a veteran herself, the Queen had a ‘deeply personal relationship’ with the armed forces, military leaders have said.

Serving personnel and veterans have paid their respects to her in person and online since her death was announced by the Royal Family at 6:30 last night. 

Outside Balmoral, where the Queen was taken ill and subsequently died, a woman saluted the late monarch after leaving a tribute to her.

Meanwhile, at the gates of Buckingham Palace, where members of the public have paid their respects, a police officer on guard became visibly overcome with emotion.

The Chief of the Defence Staff said the Queen ‘understood better than most the burdens and the glory of a life in uniform’, as he paid tribute following her death.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said service personnel, ‘must perform their final duty to a much-loved sovereign’ in the coming days, adding: ‘We do so with admiration and gratitude.’

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston also paid tribute to the Queen, saying she was a ‘pillar of strength to all who have been privileged to serve her’. 

A Chelsea pensioner also broke down as he stood outside the palace today, visibly upset after the Queen’s passing.

Archie Ferguson, a Chelsea pensioner who served in the military for 23 years, said he personally knew and cherished Her Majesty.

He told MailOnline she always appeared interested and well-researched when she came to visit the Royal Chelsea Hospital, his home.

‘She’s beautiful,’ he said, through tears. ‘I think my favourite memory was coming to the garden party here. I cooked supper for her… It was good stuff.’

Mr Ferguson was at home with his friend, Alan, when they first learned the Queen was unwell and followed the updates for hours until the announcement of her death.

He said he instantly knew the palace was where they wanted to be.

‘I’m feeling up and down,’ he said, tearing up again. ‘Sad. It’s a very precious place to come to. The nation wants to be here.’

Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said yesterday: ‘On behalf of the Armed Forces, I would like to express our condolences to His Majesty the King, and to the Royal Family. 

‘The relationship between the Queen and the Armed Forces was deeply personal. 

‘Through her own service in the Second World War, and as the wife, mother and grandmother of service personnel, the Queen understood better than most the burdens and glory of life in a uniform.

‘In the coming days, our sailors, soldiers and aviators must perform their final duty to a much-loved sovereign. 

‘We do so with admiration and gratitude. For those of us who have the privilege to now wear the King’s uniform, there remains no greater honour than to serve our Crown and Country.’

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston also paid tribute to the Queen, saying she was a ‘pillar of strength to all who have been privileged to serve her’.

In a statement posted on his Twitter page, he said: ‘It is with overwhelming sadness that the Royal Air Force and Royal Auxiliary Air Force mourn the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

‘During her long and glorious reign, she has been the embodiment of a life dedicated to the service of the nation and the Commonwealth, and for that has been admired by millions around the world.

‘Her Majesty, as head of the Armed Forces, has been a constant source of inspiration and a pillar of strength to all who have been privileged to serve her.’

As well as being the head of the armed services when she became Queen, as a young woman Her Majesty became the first female member of the Royal Family to join it as a full-time active member when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945. 

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace paid tribute yesterday saying: ‘The sad passing today of Her Majesty The Queen will be felt by every member of her Armed Forces. 

‘Her Majesty was more than their Commander in Chief, she was their guardian. 

‘She was deeply involved in championing their welfare & supporting them before, during and after operations.’

He added that the Queen dedicated her life to service. 

‘The motto of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is ‘Serve to Lead’. The Queen’s lifetime was a living embodiment of that.’ 

Military veterans took to social media to remember the time they met the monarch and thank the woman they called ‘the Boss’.

One simply tweeted a picture of her with a Royal Navy Engineering College class in 1982 with the words ‘farewell your majesty’.

One army veteran wrote: ”Ladies and Gentlemen, The Queen!’ The proudest words I’ve ever uttered at the end of my ‘Mr. Vice’ speech to the Warrant Officers & Sergeants’ Mess at my first Regimental Dinner.’

Another replied: ‘To the Boss…! It was a privilege ma’am.’

Another army veteran, now working as a train driver on the Elizabeth Line, announced her passing to passengers over the tannoy in an emotional tribute yesterday. 

The driver told those on the train ‘that he had been proud to serve as an army officer for her and will serve as an Elizabeth line driver until the day he retires’. 

The Ministry of Defence and UK police forces changed their social media profiles yesterday to black backgrounds in a mark of respect.

The Metropolitan Police’s acting Commissioner Sir Steve House wrote last night: ‘Tonight every member of the Metropolitan Police Service joins the nation in mourning the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

‘On their behalf, I send my deepest condolences to the entire Royal Family, as well as all those who have been affected personally by Her Majesty’s death. 

‘I, like every other officer in the Metropolitan Police Service, swore an oath to Her Majesty and for us all that is the greatest honour.

‘I know her Majesty’s lifetime of public service will continue to inspire generations to come.’