Queen Elizabeth II: Monarch felt 'affinity' with Devon

The lord lieutenant of Devon said Queen Elizabeth II felt an "affinity" with the region because of the warmth of the welcome she received there.

David Fursdon paid tribute to the Queen following her death on Thursday at Balmoral.

He said he had met the monarch on a number of occasions during visits to Devon throughout her 70-year reign.

Mr Fursdon has now become King Charles III's representative in Devon following proclamations across the South West.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Fursdon had served the Queen in the role since 2015.

He said: "She felt affinity resulting from the warmth of the welcome that she received, whether that was in urban parts of the county or rural parts of the county.

"Of course, she was equally happy in either of those settings."

He added: "Devon has always been an important home for units of the armed forces, so she felt an affinity with that."

In 1939, the Queen met her future husband Prince Phillip at Dartmouth's Royal Naval College and they returned to the town on a number of occasions.

She also visited many times in relation to the county's strong military connections.

King Charles III has also been a regular visitor to Devon in his previous role of Duke of Cornwall.

Mr Fursdon was with him on several of those visits and he described them as "really enjoyable".

The lord lieutenant said: "We had great fun with him. We normally had two or three visits in a day.

"He was incredibly professional. He loved the public and if they were [visits] where the public were involved, he would spend as much time talking to the public as he would on the place that we were visiting.

"He was just easy to work with and fun actually. He always had a twinkle."

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