How the world is paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday at the age of 96, people around the world have been paying tribute to the woman who ruled 32 countries and visited 117 in her 70-year reign. Her passing was marked by newspaper front pages on every continent, and even some high-profile republicans paid personal tributes. Here are some of the reactions from around the world so far.

Australia is one of the 15 countries to have called Elizabeth II queen at the time of her death. Her image was projected onto the Sydney Opera House and landmarks in Perth were illuminated in purple, while prime minister Anthony Albanese said her passing was ‘a deep loss for Australians’. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern also paid a heartfelt tribute to the Queen.

The Queen visited Canada more times than any other nation, and prime minister Justin Trudeau commented that she had been one of his favourite people.

The president of the USA, Joe Biden, visited the British Embassy in Washington, DC to offer his condolences, and declared that official US flags around the world would be flown at half-mast until the Queen’s funeral. Tributes were also paid at US baseball and tennis matches. In New York, the Queen’s image appeared on the billboards at Times Square and the Empire State Building was illuminated in purple and silver.

In Belgium, the European Commission and the Nato headquarters both lowered their flags to half-mast.

The flag of Ireland was also set at half-mast outside the Government Buildings in Dublin.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky paid homage to the Queen and his predecessor Yulia Tymoshenko laid flowers at the British Embassy in Kyiv.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron published a long tribute to the Queen, saying she ‘represented a sense of eternity’. The lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris were switched off at midnight in tribute, and a British flag was raised at the Elysée Palace.

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz declared that Queen Elizabeth’s ‘commitment to German-British reconciliation after the horrors of World War II will remain unforgotten’. Floral tributes were placed outside the British Embassy in Berlin.

In Norway, the state broadcaster suspended normal programming to cover the Queen’s death, and the prime minister said that it marked ‘the end of an era’.

A day of state mourning was declared in India for September 11. Cuba declared a day of official mourning on September 9, with the national flag at half-mast on public buildings. Bangladesh and Brazil, as well as the city of Madrid in Spain, each declared three days of official mourning.

In Israel, one of the few countries that the Queen never visited, Tel Aviv city hall and the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City were illuminated with the British flag on Thursday night.

Tributes were paid by leaders of Commonwealth nations the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Fiji, Ghana, Jamaica, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Dozens of other world leaders also issued statements of condolence and praise for the Queen, including Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Read more:

What happens now that the Queen has died?

Will the UK get a bank holiday to mark the death of the Queen?

What will happen to British coins, stamps and passports now the Queen has died?

The route the Royal Train will take to bring the Queen back to London

Everything that will be closed or cancelled following the death of the Queen