Queen Elizabeth II: Tributes paid across Coventry and Warwickshire
Getty ImagesFlags are flying at half-mast across Coventry and Warwickshire as a sign of national mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Coventry had been left "deeply saddened" said council leader George Duggins and lord mayor Kevin Maton.
"Today is a very sad day for our country, but while we mourn our loss, we also remember the great joy the Queen brought to many," they said in a joint statement.
Books of condolence have been opened.
Getty ImagesShe first visited the city as a young princess in 1948 to open the new Broadgate and lay the foundation stone for a shopping precinct as the city recovered from World War Two.
The monarch returned many times.
People gathered to lay flowers at the altar end of the cathedral ruins in the city, where the bells tolled at 12:00 BST
The dean of the cathedral said, like so many in the country, it enjoyed "a special closeness with our Queen".
Her Majesty had laid the foundation stone of the city's new cathedral in 1956, returning for the consecration in 1962.
"Queen Elizabeth has shared her life and faith with us throughout her reign. She has wept with us and rejoiced with us," said Reverend John Whitcombe.
"She has inspired us, and led us faithfully in our national life."
RSCOne caller to BBC CWR recounted meeting the Queen when he was working as a groom for a show jumping stable.
Neil Barford, from Corley, in Warwickshire, said his horse had won the prestigious Foxhunter category at the Horse of the Year show at Wembley.
"My boss won it and the groom always got presented with a crystal bowl," he explained.
"So there I was covered in mud and shavings and all kinds of muck. She put her hand out to shake mine, and I was like 'excuse the dirt ma'am'.
"But she said 'if you haven't got any dirt on you, you haven't done your job properly' - and then 'congratulations'."
He added he was "absolutely devastated" to hear of the Queen's death.
Getty ImagesThe leader of Warwickshire County Council Izzi Seccombe said: "What a smile. She could lift a room with that wonderful smile and that genuine interest that she has in the people of this country."
"I do remember her smile, I experienced that myself," said the Bishop of Coventry, Reverend Christopher Cocksworth.
"It not only lit up a room, it lit up a nation," he added, "and she had the capacity to make us smile too".
The Queen became patron of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1961, when it was created.
She last visited the Stratford-upon-Avon site in 2011 to formally open a refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
"This was a memorable day in the history of the RSC where she met and talked with members of the company and those involved in the redevelopment and transformation of the theatre," said director Catherine Mallyon and Erica Whyman, the company's acting artistic director.
RSCThe company said it was also a "great pleasure" to rehearse with the then Prince of Wales as he prepared to make his "poetic tribute" to his mother on her 90th birthday.
The RSC statement continued:
"Shakespeare's Henry VIII contains a prophecy by Archbishop Cranmer about the baby princess Elizabeth I:
She shall be, to the happiness of England,
An aged princess; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
"Translated to our times, Elizabeth II sought the happiness of England with her steadfast service, certainly lived many days, and did a great deed on every one."
RSCA Motofest event, scheduled to take place in Coventry this weekend, has been postponed, organisers have said.
They added supporting events would also be called off.
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