Queen Elizabeth II: People 'need to grieve', Plymouth bishop says

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has left many people not sure "what to do with ourselves", a Devon bishop has said.

The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday, aged 96.

The Bishop of Plymouth, the Reverend Prebendary James Grier said people in the city had been profoundly impacted.

He said he had seen people with "overwhelming" emotions and people should allow themselves to grieve.

"I think everyone was expecting the day to come, but no-one was really prepared for the day," the bishop said.

"For many of us, when death comes, we don't know what to do with ourselves.

"We don't know how to grieve, we don't know how to mourn, we don't know how to give expression to that feeling; and, for some, the emotions have to been overwhelming.

"There's no right way to grieve - it's important that we do and we don't just push it down and supress it.

"It's good to give expression to those emotions."

The Queen had visited Devon on a number of occasions, including Dartmouth when she was 13, where she met her husband Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

Books of condolence have opened at a number of public buildings across the county for people to pay their respects.

Locations include Exeter Cathedral, St Andrew's Church in Plymouth and a number of council buildings and libraries.

A 21-gun salute took place at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth and Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth to mark the formal proclamation of King Charles III.

Flags on council buildings in Devon had been at half mast, but were raised to full mast to coincide with the proclamation.

They will be lowered again to half mast at 16:00 BST on Sunday until after the Queen's state funeral.

Proclamation ceremonies for the new king are due to be held in Exeter, Plymouth and Torquay on Sunday.

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