Memories of the Queen and Nottingham

Queen Elizabeth II has passed away at the age of 96.

She was the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-serving female head of state in history having been on the throne for 70 years.

Her death comes less than 18 months after that of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April last year aged 99.

The Queen visited the city of Nottingham on many occasions, most recently in 2012 during her diamond jubilee celebrations.

She arrived in the city centre by train where she was met by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

They were greeted by thousands of people who had queued for hours to ensure they had a good viewing position of the Royal party.

The Queen then travelled to the Council House in Old Market Square and stood on the balcony to wave at the cheering crowds whilst the national anthem was played.

She then went on to Vernon Park to unveil a plaque commemorating the fact that the park had been granted Queen Elizabeth II Fields In Trust status, an initiative set up to protect Britain's open spaces.

However, the Queen's association with Nottingham goes back to much earlier in her life.

Her first visit to the city was in 1946, before she became Queen. The then Princess Elizabeth visited in her role as an ambassador of youth at the tender age of 19. A crowd of around 10,000 people greeted her arrival.

She officially opened one of the city's major hospitals, The Queen's Medical Centre in 1977 which was named in her honour to coincide with her Silver Jubilee. It was the first purpose built hospital in the UK.

The last photographs of the Queen released publicly were taken on Tuesday (6 September) at Balmoral where she accepted the resignation of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and subsequently invited Liz Truss to form a government.

Following this, the Queen withdrew from an online meeting of the privy council on Wednesday after being advised by doctors to rest.

This morning, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying the Queen was under medical supervision amid concerns from her doctors about her health.

Family members rushed to be by her side before it was confirmed this evening that she had passed away peacefully this afternoon.