Sir David Attenborough has paid tribute to the Queen saying she had an ‘extraordinary ability to put you at your ease’.
The monarch died aged 96 on Thursday at Balmoral, surrounded by her family, after a reign of 70 years.
Since Queen Elizabeth II’s death, celebrities have paid tribute, while the BBC stopped its regular programming to air continued coverage of the historic day.
Sharing his own moving tribute to the Queen, Sir David – who had met the queen on multiple occasions and worked on various broadcasts with the monarch – recalled her sense of humour and remarkable presence.
In a statement to the PA news agency, the natural historian and broadcaster, also 96, said: ‘If there was a technical hitch, she wanted to know what it was, and if it had a funny side, she was quick to see the joke.
‘Yet not for one second could you forget that you were in the presence of someone who had willingly accepted enormous responsibility and dedicated her life to serving the nation – that you were, in short, in the presence of royalty.
Queen Elizabeth II dead: What happens next?
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died after 70 years on the throne, with her death announced by Buckingham Palace on September 8, 2022.
She died at the age of 96 at her home in Balmoral, with her son, the now King Charles, and daughter Princess Anne by her side.
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‘The whole nation is bereaved.’
Sir David and the Queen had known each other for many years, with the broadcaster producing the Queen’s televised Christmas Day address for more than five years in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2018 Sir David and the monarch joined forces again on The Queen’s Green Planet in which the landmark documentary followed Queen Elizabeth II and an ambitious legacy project to create a global network of protected forests, spanning the 52 countries of the Commonwealth.
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At the heart of the film is a conversation between the pair, filmed in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, in which viewers saw the Queen talk informally to Sir David, about everything from climate change, to conkers and birthday gifts.
Earlier today Sir David recalled working on documentaries with the Queen, telling ITV News ‘if there was something funny she laughed in a genuine way’.
He mused: ‘She was an expert at getting people to relax.
‘When you met her you were well-aware that you were in the presence of someone who was extremely important to our society and yet she made it seem that you were meeting another human being with exactly the same conditions that all human beings have.’
The Royal Family has entered a period of official mourning from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral, with a statement from Buckingham Palace today saying that a date for the funeral would be announced ‘in due course’, with an update thought to be in the coming days.
Gun salutes were fired at 1pm in Hyde Park and the Tower of London as a mark of respect. One round will be fired for each year of the 96-year-old Queen’s life.
Details of a period of national mourning are expected to follow, with the government set to announce information on this at a later point.
King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort were earlier seen leaving Balmoral for London, as the King prepares to address the nation at 6pm tonight.
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