The Queen has died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle
Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 surrounded by her family. In the year of her Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of dedicated service to the Throne, the longest serving monarch passed away at her beloved Scottish estate, Balmoral.
She was never shy about meeting her people, great and small, and many got to see her charm and wit in person. Archive pictures stretching back to the 1950s prove it.
The photos below show the Queen in Staffordshire through the ages, from a visit to the region in 1955 to 2016. It’s clear from the pictures that enthusiasm for Her Majesty hasn’t dimmed, even decades after her coronation.
One set shows a visit to the Wedgwood factory in Barlaston, giving her blessing to the workers and even trying her hand at turning one of those famous bowls herself. Another set shows one of her solemn duties, making the journey to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas.
See the photos in the gallery below. And let us know your memories of the Queen’s extraordinary reign in the comments.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is presented with a rose by a wellwisher as she arrives at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton, Staffordshire, Wednesday 3 July, 2002
Queen Elizabeth II braves the rain at the Abbey Gardens in Burton, Staffordshire, Wednesday 3 July, 2002
Queen Elizabeth II waves to wellwishers as she arrives in Burton, Staffordshire, Wednesday 3 July, 2002
Queen Elizabeth II is presented with a flower garland by Mohammed Jamil (left) as she arrives at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton, Staffordshire, Wednesday 3 July, 2002
Queen Elizabeth II waves to the crowd as she arrives at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton, Staffordshire, Wednesday 3 July, 2002
Queen Elizabeth II on a visit to the Wedgewood factory, 1955
Queen Elizabeth II tries her hand at turning a Basalt powder bowl on a lathe watched by Prince Philip.
Queen Elizabeth II talks to guests at a lunch at Keele University where she stopped on a day long visit to Staffordshire, Thursday 28th October 1999
Queen Elizabeth II looks at a display on American history during a visit to Keele University, Staffordshire, Thursday, 28th October 1999
Queen Elizabeth II poses for a regimental photograph with members of the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry following a homecoming service at Lichfield Cathedral, 2011
Queen Elizabeth II acknowledges Lord Mountbatten's name at the new National Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas, Staffordshire, 2007
Queen Elizabeth II attends the dedication of the the new National Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas, Staffordshire, 2007
Queen Elizabeth II meets Sally Eyton-Jones, whose husband John Eyton Jones never returned after Sea Harrier mission in the Falklands after she dedicated the new National Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas, Staffordshire, 2007
Queen Elizabeth II views the new Duke of Lancaster's Regimental memorial during a service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, 2016
Queen Elizabeth II signs the visitor book following a service paying tribute to soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment killed while serving in Afghanistan at the National Memorial Arboretum on May 17, 2016
The Queen at Tutbury Castle in 1957
Her Majesty plants a tree at Tutbury Castle, near Burton in 1957.
The crowds out to see the Queen in Burton in 1957.
The Queen in Burton to open Queen's Hospital in 1995
Pulling the cord to mark the opening of Queen's Hospital in Burton in 1995.
The Queen visiting Stafford in 2006