The Queen who melted hearts wherever she travelled

To the very end, Queen Elizabeth II remained the Queen of Hearts. Not just loved by her citizens in the UK, but people everywhere.

She was a much-travelled Royal, who spread her love, humour and compassion wherever she went.

She was head of state of the UK and 14 other countries, including Australia, Canada – where she made 23 tours – Fiji and Jamaica, all places she loved to visit.

Always, of course, without a passport. As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it was unnecessary for The Queen to possess one.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has passed away on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96, according to Buckingham Palace. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any monarch in British history. Photo Credit: Pixabay/OpenClipart-Vectors

As much as she travelled the world - often with her late husband Prince Philip, sometimes onboard the Royal yacht Britannia, the world came to Britain to soak up the Royals.

In 2011 during the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton an additional 600,000 people came to London for the weekend.

VisitBritain reported that the event was viewed by two billion television sets and the Kate and Wills effect saw a 20% boost for UK tourism businesses.

Almost 60% of Italian tourists say the monarchy was one of the reasons they saw the UK as an attractive holiday destination.

To mark her death, the world paid tribute to the late monarch. The Eiffel Tower turned off its lights. Elsewhere, purple lights and Union Jacks were seen in cities from New York to Tel Aviv to Benidorm in Spain.

London Black cab drivers lined The Mall – the main road leading to Buckingham Palace - as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II.

Even Argentina, against whom Britain went to war, expressed its sorrow for the Queen’s passing and “accompanies the British people and her family in this moment of grief”. It was a reminder that the Monarchy remained above politics.

As the UK enters 10 days of mourning, the nation – along with the rest of the world – were in agreement with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, who said, "There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty's own words: 'Grief is the price we pay for love'."